Although he did not mandate it, Gov. John Bel Edwards used his news conference Friday to ask residents to wear masks indoors, regardless of their vaccination status.
He said he is strongly considering reinstating a mask mandate and will make his decision known today at his 2:30 p.m. press conference, after spending the weekend looking at new data from the CDC.
Dr. Joseph Kanter with the Louisiana Department of Health said Louisiana is the leading state for COVID cases per capita and shows no sign of slowing down.
Gov. Edwards says 45 hospitals across Louisiana have asked the state to assist with additional resources.
On Friday, 1,740 patients were hospitalized statewide with COVID-19; a number the state has not seen since its third surge of the virus on Jan. 26 when 1,625 patients were hospitalized.
Last week the CDC reversed course on masking guidelines it made months ago, recommending that vaccinated people return to wearing masks indoors in parts of the U.S. where the delta variant is surging. The CDC also recommended students wear masks in kindergarten through 12th-grade schools.
