Get Those Masks Ready, Mandate Could be Coming Soon
Thanks a lot, Delta variant.
Granted, it's not the worst thing in the world. I'd be lying if I said I was excited about wearing a mask again. In fact, the idea of keeping a mask on my person everywhere I go makes me downright mad, and I'm sure I'm not alone.
I don't even think I have any masks left in my possession after the mandate was lifted several months ago. I took great joy in throwing those things away and hoped I would never see them return again.
Sadly, it looks like a statewide mask mandate is right around the corner.
Covid cases are rising again in Louisiana, with 11% of all trips to the ER currently being COVID-19 related. Louisiana is doing particularly bad when it comes to the new Delta variant. In fact, we're number one in the country for new case growth per capita. When we kicked off July, we had 259 COVID-19-related hospitalizations, and today, we have 1,740. Actually, we had 1,740 yesterday, I'm sure the number is a little higher as of this writing.
At Governor John Bel Edwards' press conference today, he seemed to me like he was ready to fire off a mask mandate right then and there. However, he stopped short of doing so today but added that he is "strongly considering" issuing one in the near future.
Edwards says, "I have received, over the last 24 hours or so, numerous requests from hospitals and healthcare organizations to reinstate a statewide mask mandate. We are number one in the country for new case growth per capita, and as the states go we have been labeled a state of concern, the foremost state of concern.”
What will you do if Louisiana reinstates a mask mandate?