Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards mandates masks, closes bars as COVID surges

Gov. John Bel Edwards announced Saturday he will issue a statewide public mask mandate, close bars and reduce the limit on crowd sizes as he tries to reverse a summer surge of COVID-19 in the state.

Edwards, a Democrat, has resisted tightening restrictions since he moved the state into Phase 2, but cases and hospitalizations have risen at an alarming rate in July. His new order begins Monday.

The state is now No. 3 in per capita cases in the nation behind only New York and New Jersey.

"It's become clear to me the current restrictions are not enough," Edwards said. "We cannot risk losing our capacity to deliver hospital care."

Read more: https://www.shreveporttimes.com/story/news/2020/07/11/louisiana-governor-john-bel-edwards-issues-mask-mandate-covid-surges/5419986002/