Louisiana drops below 800 total people currently hospitalized for COVID-19 as of today’s update, down from the peak of 2134 people on April 13th. 443 new cases were also reported along with 21 new deaths bringing the state’s total number of fatalities to 2,617.
The House Natural Resources Committee has approved legislation that would terminate lawsuits filed by parishes that seek compensation from oil companies for contributing to coastal land loss. The bill’s author, Houma Senator Michael Fesi, says these types of lawsuits should be filed by the state.
St. Bernard Parish President Guy McInnis says if you don’t want to get sued then don’t pollute. He also questions the timing of trying to pass this legislation during a global pandemic
Tropical Storm Bertha forms today off the coast of the Carolinas making that two named storms for the year before the 2020 hurricane season even begins. State Climatologist Barry Keim says this has only happened five times previous to this and warns that history shows storm activity this early in the year is often a harbinger of a busy season to come. Looking back at the other five years recorded since 1851…
One of those years was 2012 when southeast Louisiana was slammed by Hurricane Isaac.