Gov. Edwards: The pandemic is not going to go away ‘because we’re tired of it’

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - Gov. John Bel Edwards held a news conference on the state’s latest COVID-19 surge Thursday, Jan. 13.

Gov. Edwards and Dr. Joseph Kanter with the Louisiana Department of Health urged Louisiana residents to wear masks while in public and get vaccinated and/or boosted against COVID-19.

The governor also suggests that people work from home, if possible, to avoid contact with other people amid a still-climbing 5th surge of the coronavirus.

Dr. Kanter said this week’s COVID-19 case growth is “explosive” and the state set a new record for single-day cases on Wednesday, Jan. 12.

Officials reported a sharp rise in cases among children, as you can see in the chart below.

The #Omicron variant affects Louisianans in every age group, but cases among the 18- and-younger age group (orange line) are rising sharply. Luckily, vaccines protect you against hospitalization and death from #COVID19, and boosters strengthen and broaden protection. pic.twitter.com/BIAZsf8bNM
— Louisiana Department of Health (@LADeptHealth) January 13, 2022