Edwards hints at changes to anti-COVID measures

Will release details Tuesday

Gov. John Bel Edwards didn't say Louisiana is moving to Phase 3 and he didn't say the state is staying in "Modified Phase 2" in his press conference Thursday (Feb. 25). What he said was he would issue a new emergency order to replace the one set to expire Wednesday (March 3).

Edwards will release details of the new anti-COVID strategy on Tuesday.

Dr. Joseph Kanter, Office of Public Health assistant secretary, said that even with a positive rate plateaued at 5 percent and the testing program hindered by the recent winter storm, "there is no question we're going in the right direction."

There were 779 new cases in the state on Thursday and only 679 COVID patients hospitalized, compared to almost 2,100 in early January.

Another good sign has been the dramatic reduction of COVID in the state's nursing homes and long-term care facilities, with only 43 cases in the past seven days.

There is still concern that various variants of the virus will spark a resurgence of the disease. There are 30 confirmed cases of the "Brit Bug" variant, with 61 suspected cases -- including six in Central Louisiana -- pending CDC confirmation.

The British variant, and others that have surfaced, appear to be more easily spread than the original COVID-19.

Kanter said the presence of these strains of the virus is a good reason "to continue with our mitigation measures," such as social distancing and wearing protective masks. He said Louisianians "need to do all we can now to continue to suppress transmission so that we don't give it a foothold" and avoid another wave of COVID.

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