COVID-19

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards could issue a statewide mask mandate as early as Monday impacting back-to-school plans for the state’s 70 districts, most of which have decided not to require face coverings for the coming school year.

The coronavirus pandemic’s fourth wave has not changed state-wide back-to-school plans in the Gulf South, where cases are rising and mask use is voluntary.

With COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations on the rise in Louisiana, some parents have begun to question whether their children will be able to start the school year in-person. But ask any school or health official and the answer — at least for now — is still the same: Schools will reopen.

An infectious disease epidemiologist with Tulane University, explains how and why the delta variant poses the pandemic’s greatest threat.

Louisiana hit another record-high day for COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations on Tuesday.

Louisiana is now facing the fastest growth in new COVID-19 cases per capita of any state in the U.S., driven by the highly contagious delta variant and the state’s bottom-rung rate of vaccinations.

Masks will once again be required inside New Orleans Public Schools in response to the city’s new indoor mask advisory, the district announced Wednesday.

An indoor mask advisory is now in place for New Orleans, Mayor LaToya Cantrell announced at a press conference Wednesday. The advisory strongly recommends that all residents and visitors mask-up indoors regardless of vaccination status.

Hospitalizations of COVID-19 patients have soared in the last month at Ochsner Health hospitals in Louisiana, in a trend that officials say is escalating as the state faces a fourth wave of the coronavirus pandemic.

A total of 5,388 cases were reported to the Louisiana Department of Health between July 20 and July 21. The total number of cases in the state is now 506,882.