Governor Edwards’ statewide mask mandate is now in effect. The new order comes following the state reporting some of the highest new daily case counts of the pandemic. Edwards says the timing of when mask-wearing is required is clear.
Cut 3 (05) “…distant from others..”
The order comes with a few exemptions from wearing a mask, including people with certain medical conditions.
Opponents of the Governor’s statewide mask mandate say Governor Edwards should not have the authority to make decisions like this by himself. Oil City Representative Danny McCormick is a signee of a Legislative effort to suspend the Governor’s public health emergency declaration. He says Edwards’ order is an attack on liberty.
State Education Superintendent Cade Brumley tells the House Education Committee that reopening schools next month during a pandemic will be a monumental task, but they’ve provided local school systems with guidance on how it can be done. Schools have been closed to in-classroom instruction since Governor Edwards shut down campuses last March. Brumley admits the long time away from the classroom has produced some level of learning loss
The Lake Charles region has fewer than two dozen ICU beds available as the area has been slammed by rising COVID-19 cases. Lake Charles, Jefferson Davis, and Cameron Parish all have a COVID incident rate of over 240 per 100,000, some of the highest in the state. Region Five Regional Public Health Medical Director Lacey Cavanaugh says that’s causing hospitalizations to pile up.