Louisiana Reinstates, Indoor Mask Mandate, Amid Spike in COVID-19 Hospitalizations.br Louisiana Reinstates, Indoor Mask Mandate, Amid Spike in COVID-19 Hospitalizations.br On Monday, Louisiana reinstated itsbr statewide indoor mask mandate. .br The mandate will go intobr effect on Wednesday.br Governor John Bel Edwards took to Twitter to speakbr about the state’s decision to restore the mask rule.br According to Gov. Edwards, the state is experiencingbr an alarming spike in COVID-19 infections and hospitalizationsbr due to the highly transmissible delta variant. .br The Delta variant is different than the originalbr strains of COVID. It is more than two times asbr transmissible, and while vaccination reducesbr one's chances of becoming infected with COVID,br fully vaccinated people infected with Deltabr can transmit the virus to others. , Governor John Bel Edwards, via Twitter.br Speaking again during a news briefing, Gov. Edwards saidbr Louisiana’s current recommendations are “not strong enough.”.br It has become extremely clear that ourbr current recommendations on their ownbr are not strong enough to deal withbr Louisiana’s fourth surge of COVID. , Governor John Bel Edwards, via Huffpost.br He went on to call Louisiana’s COVID-19br uptick the “worst one [they’ve] had.”.br This is bad. And it’s not this bad anywherebr else in the country today … In fact, nobodybr should be laboring under the misapprehensionbr that this just another surge. This is thebr worst one we’ve had, Governor John Bel Edwards, via Huffpost.br Louisiana currently has one of the lowest vaccination rates inbr the United States, with only 43 percent of residents havingbr received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. .br Louisiana currently has one of the lowest vaccination rates inbr the United States, with only 43 percent of residents havingbr received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. .br Only 37 percent of residents are fully vaccinated. .br The state’s largest hospital, Our Lady ofbr the Lake, currently has “no beds left.” .br There are no beds left. These are the darkest days of this pandemic. We are no longer giving adequate care to these patients, Dr.