Starting Wednesday most of the remaining COVID public health restrictions will be lifted. The mask mandate for educational settings will remain in place through the end of the current semester but will cease for the summer semester. Masks will still be required in health care facilities, prisons, and public transit.
Governor Edwards said his decision to drop most of the remaining limitations was due to the fact we’ve hit an all-time low in COVID-related hospitalizations at only 269 as of Tuesday, and more than 1.6 million Louisianans have received at least one dose of a COVID vaccine. COVID-related hospitalization numbers have dropped precipitously from the all-time high of 2,069 on January 7th.
Despite our recent success, Edwards said he isn’t canceling the public health emergency declaration. He mentioned the emergency declaration plays a big role in allowing the state to coordinate with local entities in testing and vaccine administration. He also said we have a lot of work to do and are still seeing new COVID deaths every day.
“You know the deaths are actually harder to accept and understand now because they come months after the vaccine has become available and we know that the vaccine is effective,” said Edwards who noted 10,548 Louisianans have died of COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic last year and 13 new deaths were reported Tuesday.
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