Governor: Louisiana will move into Phase Three on Friday

Louisiana will move into Phase Three of coronavirus mitigation measures Friday, Gov. John Bel Edwards said at a press conference Thursday morning.

But the statewide mask mandate is likely to stay in place, although the governor said specifics on what Phase Three means will have to wait until Friday.

Under the White House Coronavirus Task Force guidelines, which have served as a guide for Louisiana, Phase Three means:

--Vulnerable people can resume public interactions, but should practice physical distancing, minimizing exposure to social settings where distancing may not be practical, unless precautionary measures are observed.

--Low-risk people should consider minimizing time spent in crowded environments.

--Employers may resume unrestricted staffing of worksites.

--Visits to senior care facilities and hospitals can resume. Those who interact with residents and patients must be diligent regarding hygiene.

--Large venues, such as sit-down dining, movie theaters, sporting venues and places of worship can operate under limited physical distancing protocols.

--Gyms can remain open if they adhere to standard sanitation protocols.

--Bars may operate with increased standing room occupancy, where applicable.

Edwards said this decision was the toughest since he first proclaimed a public health emergency in March, when he closed schools and nonessential businesses and issued a stay at home order.

"You've got the data that I think in a relatively straightforward fashion support the decision to go to Phase Three," Edwards said.

"But then you have the unknown, and the unknown comes at precisely the time when your testing was more diminished than you want it to be because of the hurricane."

In addition to the reduced testing during the approach and aftermath of hurricanes Marco and Laura, thousands of evacuees from southwest Louisiana, which had been the hottest of Louisiana coronavirus hot spots, have been scattered around the state. K-12 schools have been opening, including 17 districts this week, the governor said. He was also concerned that Labor Day activities might contribute to another surge in COVID-19 spread like the one that followed Memorial Day.

In the end, Edwards said, he decided to go with the data for the sake of consistency and transparency.

But the governor said he's ready to impose additional measures if officials see signs of another COVID surge, especially with flu season approaching.

"If we do, we'll act quickly," he said.

The data used to determine the appropriate level of precautions, called gating criteria, include the number of people showing up at emergency rooms with COVID-like symptoms; the raw number of positive tests; the percentage of tests returning positive tests; hospitalizations for COVID-positive people; and the number of tests being performed.

Edwards has faced pressure from the right to reopen the economy more quickly. The CEO of the Pelican Institute, a conservative advocacy organization, praised Edwards' Thursday announcement.

"Gov. Edwards’ announcement today is a step in the right direction to get Louisiana working," CEO Daniel Erspamer said. "After months of urging Louisiana leaders to continue moving forward to reopen our state’s economy, the Pelican Institute is encouraged to see them finally prioritizing the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of Louisianans and their families. This has dragged on for far too long, and the damage done during this time will be extremely difficult to reverse.

"We’re currently facing two serious crises that must be addressed with equal effort and urgency – the health threat posed by COVID-19 and the destruction of livelihoods shutdown mandates leave in their wake. From there, of course, many tasks remain. Among them are policy changes necessary to provide proper checks and balances to Louisiana state government and to ensure every citizen’s rights and liberties are protected the next time we face a public health crisis."

Two Eunice residents have launched an effort to recall Edwards. They'll need petition signatures from about 600,000 registered voters to get a recall on the ballot, according to published accounts.

"There are a lot of things that keep me up at night," Edwards said in response to a reporter's question at Thursday's press conference. "That's not one of them."