Governor Extends Phase 2 by 21 Days
Governor John Bel Edwards has announced his decision to extend Phase 2 another 21 days. The Governor said at today's COVID-19 update that the state is starting to plateau but we are not yet ready to move into Phase 3.
Edwards said that mitigation measures such as closing bars and mandating masks is having a positive effect as the positivity rate and hospitalizations are going down. However, the Governor said the positivity rate is still above the CDC recommended 10%. He also stated that the number of new cases and hospitalizations are still higher than he liked to see. It was also noted in the Governor's presentation that Regions 4, 5 and 6 are still trouble spots for the state.
The Governor said that if we got more compliance from the citizens in the state, we should be able to drastically lower our numbers and possibly move into the next phase of re-opening. The Governor noted that while we are moving in the right direction, that we're not where we need to be at the moment.
The current Phase 2 order will run out Friday. The Governor is extending the order 21 days until August 28th. The Governor has said numerous times that he doesn't believe that bars will be able to open until there is a vaccine or a widely available treatment. Edwards also noted that until we get full compliance statewide with the mask mandate and social distancing guidelines, he doesn't know when we'll be able to move into Phase 3 of reopening.
You can watch the Governor's full statement on the Phase 2 extension below: