Aug 2 (Reuters) - Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards on Monday said he had reinstated a statewide indoor mask mandate for both vaccinated and unvaccinated people, as COVID-19 hospitalizations in the state near their highest point of the entire pandemic.

Edwards said the mask mandate included schools and was for everyone aged 5 and up. The governor said hospitals in the state were being overwhelmed and enduring a acute shortage of staff. (Reporting by Brad Brooks in Lubbock, Texas; Editing by Leslie Adler)