Louisiana governor fasts for Covid as hospitalisations in state hit 2,720

Louisiana’s Democratic Governor John Bel Edwards started fasting during lunchtime on Monday in honour of the state’s healthcare workers, as hospitalisations caused by Covid-19 jumped to 2,720.

“Join me and @FirstLadyOfLA in praying & fasting during lunchtime August 9-11 for our health care workers & all those affected by Covid-19,” Mr Edwards tweeted on Sunday. “In addition to prayer, I urge all Louisianans to protect their neighbours & themselves by getting their vaccines & wearing masks.”

In a statement on 6 August, Mr Edwards said he had “asked hundreds of ministers and pastors throughout Louisiana to join me during the lunch hour next Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday in praying and fasting for our state, and I am extending this invitation to anyone and everyone who is so inclined, no matter their religious beliefs”.

“I believe very strongly in the power of prayer, and there are thousands of people right now in Louisiana who need to be lifted up in prayer,” he added. “So I hope you will join your prayers to mine for healing and protection.”

The governor also announced last week that he was reinstating the statewide mask mandate for everyone over the age of five in indoor public spaces because of the rising case rates and hospitalisations in Louisiana. The mandate expires on 1 September but can be extended if the circumstances haven’t improved.

The state is suffering from the fourth wave of infections and low vaccination rates as the highly transmissible Delta variant of the virus travels across the area.

Mr Edwards has chosen not to impose a vaccine mandate for public workers in high-risk sectors, like some other Democratic governors have done. But he has publicly supported schools and businesses that have chosen to impose vaccine mandates.

Data from the Louisiana Department of Health show that more than 590,000 cases of Covid-19 have been recorded in the state, which has suffered more than 11,000 deaths since the start of the pandemic.

Around 56 per cent of adults in Louisiana have received at least one dose of the vaccine, according to figures from the CDC.

More than 16,000 new cases and 50 new deaths were recorded over the weekend as hospitalisations jumped by 299 to a total of 2,720 patients. The local Health Department says 91 per cent of those hospitalised have not been fully vaccinated.

The largest share of the new cases was reported in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and the Northshore, WWLTV reported.

Just in the first nine days of this month, 48,000 new cases were recorded in the state.

Since the last update of vaccine figures last week, the department said 65,589 doses of the vaccine had been administered.

Christina Stephens, a spokesperson for Mr Edwards, said the figures revealed on Monday included three days of data and that the number of new cases was “shockingly high”.

“Simply put, there is just a massive amount of active Covid in Louisiana right now and you should be getting vaccinated and wearing masks indoors. Period. End of story,” Ms Stephens said, according to WWLTV.