Governor extends stay-at-home order, although approved medical procedures expanded

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By Mike Scott, mscott@stph.org

Louisiana’s stay-at-home order will stay in place through May 15, Gov. John Bel Edwards announced Monday afternoon, although procedures for time-sensitive medical conditions that may have been delayed due to COVID-19 may be rescheduled and performed effective immediately.

“Healthcare facilities play a critical role in responding to COVID-19 and helping people be their healthiest,” Gov. John Bel Edwards said previously in announcing the Louisiana Department of Health’s revised medical and surgical guidelines, which went into effect Monday. “We are quite some time away from returning to normal but this is a step in the right direction.”

Patients should discuss needs with their physician or surgeon to determine appropriate next steps in their personal care.

Aside from the enactment of the new medical guidelines, Monday’s stay-at-home extension slightly modifies Edwards’ original order in three ways: Restaurants can let customers eat outdoors on patios if there is no table service, stores in malls can offer curbside retail service, and workers at all businesses must wear masks if they routinely come into contact with the public.

That means bars, barber shops and dine-in restaurants will remain closed for now. A phased reopening of the state’s economy will begin May 16.

On that date, restaurants will be allowed to offer dine-in service, with some further modifications; churches will be allowed to restart in-person worship services; and salons and other personal care business can reopen. Those businesses, however, will have to reduce their standard capacity to 25 percent.

Bars will remain closed during the period that starts May 16.

The state has been on shutdown since March 22 – including the banning of gatherings of 10 people or more -- in an effort to stop the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus. The decline in the number of new cases over the past few weeks show the restrictions have been effective, prompting some to argue it’s time for the state to reopen its economy immediately.

But, Edwards said, there is still work to be done.

“Thanks to the commitment of the people of Louisiana, our state has made progress in flattening the curve and reducing the spread of the novel coronavirus,” Edwards said in a news release. “Unfortunately, we still have a little work to do before we meet the criteria to safely move to the next phase of reopening, so I will extend the state’s Stay at Home order until May 15, with a few minor changes. While this is not the announcement I want to make, I am hopeful, and all of Louisiana should be hopeful, that we will enter into the next phase of reopening soon, in mid-May. I am anxious to get all areas of our economy reopened, but if we accelerate too quickly, we may have to slam on the brakes. That will be bad for public health and for businesses, bad for our people and bad for our state.”

Read details on the governor’s stay-at-home order at gov.louisiana.gov/home.

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Visit STPH.org/COVID-19  for the latest information on coronavirus in St. Tammany Parish.