HOUSTON, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- U.S. state of Louisiana will remain the current COVID-19 restrictions for another 21 days until the first week in March, Governor John Bel Edwards said on Tuesday.
During Tuesday afternoon's press briefing, Edwards announced the extension of the state's current Phase 2 Modified Restrictions which will expire this week, saying that the state still has "twice as many people in the hospital with COVID as we did over the summer."
"There has been some progress over the last month or so," Edwards said. "We're very, very thankful for that. The fact of the matter is the baseline numbers remain very high and concerning."
The governor put Louisiana back in Phase 2 Modified Restrictions in November 2020 when the state experienced a surge of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations. Under the restrictions, bars are closed to indoor services and most businesses operate at 50 percent occupancy.
Official figures showed that 1,178 people died of COVID-19 in January in Louisiana, making it the second-deadliest month of the pandemic behind April 2020. COVID-19 measurements have improved in recent weeks. Enditem
