Gov. John Bel Edwards will sign a new COVID-19 emergency order Tuesday for the state, extending the public health emergency. Most of the remaining restrictions will be lifted, including business capacity and crowd size guidance.A mask is still recommended for those not vaccinated.Masks will still be required on public transit. Starting with summer programs, the mask date for schools will be lifted. The governor says each school district will set its own mask policies. Edwards says we are in a better place than at any point during the pandemic.New Orleans Director of Communications Beau Tidwell says there are no changes to the guidelines in place for the city. Tidwell says public health leadership is reviewing the new guidance from the state and anticipate further announcement later in the week. In the meantime, Tidwell said vaccination efforts will shift to smaller, community-based events moving forward."(We will be) trying to target specific communities, trying to determine where the need is, where the potential reluctance is and what we can do to overcome that," said Tidwell. "We have a really clear goal at this point, 70% by July Fourth. We do believe we can get there, and we are going to do everything in our power to try to make that happen."As of Tuesday, 52.1% of eligible New Orleans residents are fully vaccinated. At a regional level, the numbers are lower. According to data from the Louisiana Department of Health, in Region 1, which includes New Orleans, 38.92% of the eligible population has completed the vaccination series. That is compared to just 21.74% in Region 5, which includes Lake Charles.Edwards said the reason for hesitancy in some areas of the state over others is unclear."We have over 1,500 locations in Louisiana today where vaccines can be administered," said Edwards. "All I can tell you is we’re working extremely hard every day to make it more accessible, more convenient to instill more confidence."BESE issued the following statement on the decision: “Earlier this month our Board directed Superintendent Brumley to meet with Governor Edwards to request removing the mask mandate for K-12 students, and I am pleased with the Governor’s decision today to lift the requirement. Our state has been a leader in safely returning students to daily, in-person learning, and that progress will now continue with our school systems taking the reins in developing COVID-19 policies appropriate for their local communities. On behalf of BESE, I thank Governor Edwards, Superintendent Brumley and his team, state and local health officials, and our K-12 teachers and administrators across the state for their efforts and cooperation as we enter what is hopefully the final phase of educating through COVID-19 in Louisiana.”