Gov. calls press conference for Monday to talk about COVID response

Gov. John Bel Edwards has called a press conference for 2:30 p.m. Monday to talk about the state's COVID-19 response.

The announcement is sure to lead to speculation that Edwards is about to impose a new mask mandate in response to a rapidly worsening coronavirus fourth wave.

On Friday, Edwards said he wasn't yet ready to impose a mask mandate and wouldn't do that without consulting with public health officials. If he does, the governor said, the mandate would probably be for what the experts are strongly recommending already: wearing a mask in indoor public spaces.

In a month, Louisiana has gone from the verge of normal as COVID numbers declined to once again being a national hotspot for new coronavirus infections. Public officials are blaming this fourth surge on low vaccination rates -- only about 42% for the state and 30.2% in St. Mary Parish -- and the easily transmissible Delta variant's arrival in the country.

COVID hospitalizations in Louisiana are seven times what they were July 1 and are approaching the levels they reached during the worst of the third wave last winter. About one emergency room visit in nine is for COVID-like symptoms. The state's incidence rate -- the seven day average of new COVID cases per 100,000 people -- is more than triple the level at which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says serious concern is warranted.

Thirteen percent of Louisiana COVID tests are now returning positive results.