On Thursday, Gov. John Bel Edwards continued to encourage residents to wear a mask indoors and out, social distance, and work from home if possible as cases continue to surge across Louisiana. Over the last several weeks, the state has broken the single-day pandemic record four times. On Wednesday, the Louisiana Department of Health (LDH) reported 17,592 new cases.
The City of New Orleans announced via NOLA Ready on Tuesday that the citywide mask mandate will be reinstated effective 6:00 am on Wednesday, Jan. 12. Masks will be required indoors throughout the city, including in bars, restaurants, fitness centers, entertainment venues, K-12 schools, healthcare facilities, and on all public transportation.
The Louisiana Department of Health reported on Monday that out of 12,831 COVID-19 tests taken across the state, 2,619 came back positive. That's around 20 percent of the tests reported resulting in new cases.
A week full of public health warnings on a possible Omicron wave didn't stop holiday revelers over the weekend. On Sunday, Mayor Latoya Cantrell joined hundreds of mostly-maskless residents and visitors for caroling in Jackson Square, in spite of some institutions across New Orleans signaling a return to mask mandates.
The Omicron variant was named a "variant of concern" by the World Health Organization on Friday - it is the most serious designation of a COVID-19 variant. Here is everything we know about the new variant so far.
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