While the pandemic-driven economic downturn in early 2020 was devastating for many businesses and workers, the carnage wasn’t as severe as some had predicted. Earlier this year, with vaccines widely available and COVID-19 seemingly in retreat, life was starting to feel almost normal.
But that was before the fourth wave of COVID-19, brought on by the delta variant, caused case counts to spike dramatically and set new records for hospitalizations. Gov. John Bel Edwards reissued a statewide mask mandate in early August and suggested other anti-COVID mandates were not off the table, a stark reminder that the pandemic is far from over.
It was also before Hurricane Ida blew ashore almost two weeks ago, knocking out power across much of the Capital Region.
Still, the Capital Region’s rebound continues. But it’s been an uneven recovery, and with Louisiana’s low vaccination rate, the uncertainty likely won’t dissipate any time soon.
Read the full story from the latest edition of Business Report, which delves into the state of several of the area’s biggest industries and what it would take for things to get back on the fast track.
