- Associated Press - Wednesday, August 26, 2020

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - As Louisiana has made significant strides in combating its second coronavirus surge, Gov. John Bel Edwards said Wednesday that he’s keeping the state’s mask mandate, bar closures and other rules aimed at lessening the virus’s spread in place for another two weeks.

The rules were set to expire Friday. But the Democratic governor signed a new proclamation extending the provisions through Sept. 11. He made the announcement at a midday news conference largely devoted to the approach of Hurricane Laura, which was heading toward southwest Louisiana with dangerous storm surge, rain and wind.

Edwards lamented that the impending storm meant suspension of community testing for COVID-19 at a crucial time — as elementary and secondary schools are opening and students are returning to college campuses. “We’re basically going to be blind for this week,” Edwards said, referring to the lack of testing.

Also worrying: The storm was forcing evacuations from an area of the state where there has been a high rate of positive tests.

Louisiana has seen significant declines in new confirmed coronavirus cases and shrinking hospitalization numbers for patients with the COVID-19 disease caused by the virus.

But rather than see that as a reason to loosen the restrictions, Edwards said it shows those limitations are working and should be maintained, particularly as more people are interacting and moving around with the reopening of K-12 schools and universities this month.

The regulations limit restaurants to 50% capacity for in-person dining, restrict bars to takeout and delivery only and place occupancy limits on gyms, salons and other businesses deemed nonessential. Face coverings are required for anyone age 8 and older, with medical exceptions. Indoor gatherings above 50 people are banned.

Edwards said his decision to extend the Phase 2 rules stays inline with the guidance he’s received from the White House coronavirus task force.

The rolling average number of new coronavirus cases daily in Louisiana has been falling for weeks, decreasing by more than half over the last two weeks alone to roughly about 800 new cases confirmed a day. The number of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 fell below 1,000 last week - for the first time since early July.

On Wednesday, the state reported 844 new cases and 33 more deaths. Hospitalizations fell to 914 from 930 the day before.

Edwards has said the mask mandate and bar restrictions in particular have helped shrink the number of new cases and that all the restrictions must be maintained to slow the spread of the virus.

Critics have panned the governor’s actions as stifling the economy, damaging job recovery and infringing on personal rights. But federal and state judges have upheld Edwards’ mask requirement and other restrictions as within the scope of his constitutional authority, rejecting several efforts to overturn the rules. Appeals are pending in some of the litigation.

Louisiana has one of the nation’s highest per capita death rates from the illness. The state has seen nearly 145,000 confirmed coronavirus cases since early March, according to the health department, with nearly 128,000 presumed recovered.

The numbers of actual infections are thought to be far higher because many people can be asymptomatic and never get tested. For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms. For some, especially older adults and those with existing health problems, it can cause more severe or fatal illness.

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McGill reported from New Orleans.

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Follow AP coverage of the pandemic at https://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak.

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