On Aug. 2, Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) signed an executive order reinstating the indoor mask requirement for vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals. Louisiana was the only state to reintroduce a statewide indoor mask policy between July 30 and August 5.
Gov. Edwards said the order would be in place until Sept. 1, and could be extended beyond that date. The requirement came after the CDC updated its masking guidance, recommending fully vaccinated people wear masks while indoors in parts of the country with substantial or high transmission.
Five states currently have statewide mask orders for unvaccinated individuals, and 3 states have statewide mask orders for vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals. All 8 of the states have Democratic governors.
In total, 39 states have issued statewide mask requirements. Thirty-two states (16 states with Republican governors and 16 states with Democratic governors) have allowed statewide orders to expire. One state (Louisiana) that allowed a statewide order to expire later reinstated a mask order.
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