LDH confirms two COVID-19 deaths under the age of 18

BATON ROUGE, La. (KLFY) -- The Louisiana Department of Health confirmed the deaths of two children under the age of 18. One death was between ages 0 and 4, and the other was between 12 and 17, according to a press release from the LDH.

The deaths of the two children come in the state's fourth COVID-19 surge, which is largely driven by the strong, highly contagious Delta variant. The total death count in Louisiana is now 12,582.

The total number of pediatric deaths is now 13.

"Any life lost to COVID-19 is a tragedy, but the loss of a child is profoundly heartbreaking. Just a week ago today, our hearts were heavy with the loss of a young child, and today we feel the loss doubly with the deaths of two more," said Dr. Joseph Kanter, State Health Officer. "To best protect our young children who are not eligible to get the vaccine, as well as ourselves and our loved ones, we can do two simple things: get the vaccine and wear a mask."

Gov. Edwards today updated the mask mandate to extend until Sept. 29.