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Gov. John Bel Edwards on Tuesday announced that he will extend Louisiana’s current Phase Two order, which also includes a statewide mask mandate, limits indoor social gatherings to 50 people and prohibits on-premises consumption of alcohol at bars, for another two weeks, as COVID-19 incidence remains high across the state and hospitalizations continue to rise. All of the latest restrictions outlined in the Phase Two order are in keeping with recommendations from the White House Coronavirus Task Force.

The current order is set to expire on the morning of Friday, July 24. The new order, which will be issued later this week, will run through Friday, Aug. 7. The governor added the mask mandate and other restrictions to an order that went into effect July 13.

As of July 15, all regions of Louisiana had a seven-day average positivity of new tests that was greater than 10 percent and the overall statewide positivity rate was 15.46 percent. The state’s aim is for this rate to be below 10 percent.

“We are seeing a high percent of new tests coming back as positive, increased hospitalizations over the past 14 days and a high incidence rate across the state, which means Louisiana is not ready to move to Phase Three,” Edwards said. “We will continue with our current restrictions to see if we can slow the spread in Louisiana over the next two weeks.

“I believe in the people of Louisiana, who have already been able to flatten the curve once, and who I know can do it again. Please wear your facemask when you are in public, wash your hands frequently, stay six feet away from others and stay home when you are sick. Additionally, federal surge testing is going on in key areas of the state. If you have access to this free testing, please take the opportunity to get tested. You can pre-register at www.doineedacovid19test.com.”