Louisiana returning to ‘modified Phase 2’

Louisiana Gov. John Bell Edwards announces a statewide tightening of COVID-19 restrictions during a news conference on Tuesday, Nov. 24. (Screengrab)

By Mike Scott, mscott@stph.org

In an effort to stem a statewide surge of coronavirus cases that has played out over the past three weeks, Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said Tuesday (Nov. 24) that he will sign an executive order to return the state to a “modified Phase 2” of COVID restrictions.

The new order will go into effect Wednesday (Nov. 25). In addition to leaving the state’s mask mandate and social distancing orders in place, it will:

• Limit the occupancy of restaurants, gyms and nonessential retail establishments to 50% capacity.
• Allow indoor, on-premises consumption of alcohol by seated, physically distanced patrons in bars with an occupancy limit of 50% capacity providing those bars are located in parishes that have a two-week positivity rate of less than 5%.
• Close indoor consumption of alcohol at bars located in parishes with a two-week positivity rate of more than 5%. Bars in those parishes will, however, be allowed to serve patrons outdoors but with an occupancy limit of 25% capacity and up to a total of 50 people provided they are seated at physically distanced tables.
• Limit the occupancy of churches and other places of worship to 75% capacity.
• Limit other indoor gatherings to 25% capacity, with a limit of 75 people total.
• Limit outdoor gatherings to 25% capacity, with a limit of 150 people where strict physical distancing isn’t possible.
• Limit attendance at sporting events to 25% capacity, with physical distancing mandated.
• Allow schools to continue to host in-person learning

While not mandated, Edwards urged both public and private employers to maximize the use of teleworking where possible. He also urged private citizens to limit their holiday gatherings to those people in their household.

Edwards’ announcement, coming just two days before Thanksgiving, was made in a Tuesday afternoon news conference in which he offered a grim rundown of Louisiana’s recent COVID-19 statistics, making particular note that, as of Tuesday, the state was reporting 1,052 current COVID hospitalizations. That’s up from fewer than 600 on Nov. 1.

The past week has also seen more new cases in Louisiana than the national average for the first time “in many, many weeks,” he added.

“When we see what’s happening all across the state and in all regions of our state, we have to be very concerned about hospitals and making sure we retain the capacity needed to deliver life-saving care both to COVID patients and to non-COVID patients,” Edwards said. “Because of the trajectory that we are on and have been on the last 10 days or so, it is imperative that we take action and that we take action now.”

Even assuming broad statewide compliance with the new restrictions, Edwards predicted it will take at least two weeks before infection rates are positively impacted, adding that, “We are in for a rough patch.”

He also pleaded with Louisiana residents to adhere to masking and social distancing guidelines in an effort to avoid overwhelming hospitals.

“I would ask you to listen to our doctors, our nurses, our respiratory therapists, our EMTs – they’re already doing more than their part, and they have been since March,” he said. “It has been a very long nine months for them. They are exhausted. So let’s do this together for those you love and for our heroic medical professionals out there.”

The new order will be in effect for at least 28 days, at which time they will be reviewed and extended or rolled back as the situation warrants.

As of Tuesday, St. Tammany Health System had 22 inpatients under COVID care. That’s nearly double the number of COVID inpatients it was treating as recently as Nov. 11.

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