As cases surge, New Orleans 'strongly recommends' masks

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — With the daily average of new COVID-19 cases surging to numbers not seen in months, New Orleans officials issued an advisory Wednesday “strongly recommending” people resume wearing masks indoors, hoping to avoid the kind of virus-related shutdowns that devastated the city's tourism economy in 2020.

Mayor LaToya Cantrell stopped short Wednesday of requiring mask wearing. She said the advisory being issued “puts the responsibility on individuals themselves," rather than having the city enforce a mandate.

The announcement came as the city posted figures showing the surge, driven by the highly contagious delta variant, has pushed the seven-day average of new cases reported in the city to 117, the highest since early February. It had fallen as low as eight in mid-June but began climbing sharply in early July.

Also Wednesday, Louisiana's health department reported a new case count of 5,388, the third highest since the pandemic began. Hospitalizations for the disease rose to 844 statewide, up more than 600 since June 19.

Dr. Jennifer Avegno, New Orleans' health director, and Dr. Emily Nichols, head of the city's emergency medical services, said the increase in cases has led to a shortage of health care workers. “Our beds are filling up, our providers are working long, hard hours,” Nichols said.

The new measures come even as the city boasts a higher vaccination rate than the rest of Louisiana, which lags much of the nation. Wednesday's statistics show more than 55% of the city's population has gotten one vaccination shot, with nearly 51% fully vaccinated, numbers comparable to national figures.

But city officials say the rate is still too low. And with the state's rate down around 36% — and tourists visiting from areas that may not have high rates —...