Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards put the executive order mandating the wearing of masks or facial coverings when people could be physically distant from others in July 2020. He lifted the mandate today, effective Wednesday. 

Gov. John Bel Edwards lifted the state’s mask mandate effective Wednesday, giving local governments and businesses the authority to set their mask requirements.

Although the elimination of the statewide mandate is an easing of the existing regulations, masks will still be required public transit and in state government buildings, K-12 schools, early childhood education centers, colleges and universities, and healthcare facilities.

In addition to lifting the statewide mandate, the order Edwards signed Tuesday also eases restrictions on live music and allows some businesses, like salons, to re-open their waiting areas. For theaters, event spaces, festivals and fairs and other outdoor events, there will be no limitations on outdoor capacity. Indoors, a facility may choose to operate at 75 percent capacity while enforcing six feet of social distancing or at 100 percent capacity with masking required and enforced.

For indoor sporting events, capacity is limited to 75 percent of capacity with social distancing, or 100 percent capacity if a mask mandate is enforced at the venue.

Capacity will not be limited outdoors.

For live music, new regulations will require 10 feet of space between the stage and the audience and crowds must be seated. Bars will still only be open to those 21 and older.

The announcement from Baton Rouge comes on the same day that the Centers for Disease Control changed its mask guidance for outdoor areas, saying that vaccinated individuals in low-density groups should not have to wear masks. The CDC did keep a masking recommendation in place for those people in a large crowd, such as a festival or a concert, and for those indoors.

According to the CDC, the chance of infection from COVID-19 indoors is 20 times higher than in an outdoor situation.

In announcing the lifting of the statewide mask mandate, Edwards cited the 25 percent of Louisianans who have completed their vaccination regimen, including two-thirds of those 65 and older.

All Louisiana residents 16 and older have been eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine for more than a month. Louisiana was one of the first states to broaden vaccine eligibility to the full population.

“Many Louisianans have been wearing masks for more than a year now and the statewide mask mandate has been in place for nearly 10 months,” Edwards said. “I want to be clear: this is not the end of wearing masks in public, as COVID-19 and the spread of variants are still a real threat in our communities.”

He also said he will not alter his mask discipline.

“I will continue to wear a mask in government buildings and in public, especially when I do not know if someone around me has been vaccinated, and I encourage everyone to do this as well,” Edwards said.

The  follow the “Two out of Three” rule to keep themselves safe during COVID. When in doubt about whether to wear a mask at a certain activity where people outside of a person’s everyday household will be present, the Louisiana Department of Health recommends that the public stay safe by making sure everyone around them is vaccinated, or by maintaining the “2 out of 3” rule.

To lower risk for COVID-19, make sure the activity meets two out of the following three conditions: Outdoors, Distanced and Masked.

Outdoors + Distanced = No Mask Recommended

Outdoors + Not Distanced = Mask Recommended

Indoor + Distanced = Mask Recommended

Residents can call the Bring Back Louisiana COVID-19 vaccine hotline at 1-855-453-0774 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Sunday. The hotline can help residents schedule vaccine appointments, find vaccine providers in their area and connect people with medical professionals who can answer vaccine-related questions.