A man with a face covering is seen on a street in New Orleans, Louisiana, the United States, on Aug. 3, 2021. U.S. Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards on Monday reinstated statewide indoor mask mandate as COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations continued to surge. According to the mandate, which will be effective from Aug. 4 until at least Sept. 1, all people aged five and older must wear a face mask at indoors places. (Photo by Lan Wei/Xinhua)
HOUSTON, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards on Monday reinstated statewide indoor mask mandate as COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations continued to surge.
According to the mandate, which will be effective from Aug. 4 until at least Sept. 1, all people aged five and older mush wear a face mask at indoors places.
The mandate also applies to K-12 schools, universities, and other higher education institutions, which return to on-campus learning in the coming weeks. In accordance with new guidance from the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), all people on campuses should be masked indoors, regardless of their vaccination status.
"It has never been more clear that we are in an unchecked COVID surge that, in addition to threatening the health and wellbeing of many Louisianans, also threatens the capacity of our hospitals and medical facilities to deliver care to their patients," Edwards said.
Driven largely by Louisiana's insufficient vaccination rate and the spread of the highly transmissible Delta variant, COVID-19 cases in the state have grown exponentially. Louisiana remains the state with the largest number of new COVID-19 cases per capita.
The governor hoped the new mask mandate will help slow the spread of COVID-19 and limit suffering and death in Louisiana.
"This decision is not one I take lightly, but as the fourth surge of COVID-19 is upon us, we know that mask wearing when you are in public is one way to greatly lower your risk of spreading or catching COVID," said the governor. Enditem
