Gov. John Bel Edwards announced on Tuesday afternoon that he would be extending the statewide indoor mask mandate for another four weeks.

I am extending Louisiana’s statewide indoor mask mandate for another four weeks as the state’s overall COVID-19 outlook improves following the state’s worst surge of the entire pandemic. The statewide mask mandate includes K-12 schools and college campuses. #lagov pic.twitter.com/fRWFFUY8wS

— John Bel Edwards (@LouisianaGov) September 28, 2021

The mandate was initially issued on Aug. 4 and initially expired on Sept. 1, as Louisiana struggled with the highly contagious delta variant. Edwards then extended it until September 29th before today’s announcement

The number of cases and hospitalizations have dropped in the last few days and the vaccination rate as of today is more than 45% according to John Bel Edwards.