A study from Scripps Research Institute indicates mutations in the strain of coronavirus circulating the United States may be much more infectious than the Wuhan predecessor. Kevin Barnhart has the story.
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A Lake Charles attorney’s push to remove a confederate monument from the Calcasieu Courthouse receives support from a judge. Kevin Barnhart has the story.
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COVID-19 hospitalizations have increased for three straight days in Louisiana after nearly two months of consistent declines. Matt Doyle has more on why that may be…
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The US Senate’s lone African American GOP member is set to unveil police reform legislation today in response to the George Floyd protests.
The legislation limits use of chokeholds, requires officers to intervene if they see excessive use of force, and provides for more cameras. Senator Bill Cassidy says Tim Scott’s bill is a necessary conversation.
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Tuesday the President signed his own executive order blocking federal funds from heading to police departments that do not limit the use of chokeholds.
Cassidy says he looks forward to the coming debate over police reforms and wants other states to take a look at New Orleans Police’s use of force policy for guidance.
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Outside of one notable incident near the Crescent City Connection Bridge, there has been limited conflict between protesters and the NOPD since Floyd’s death.
Chokeholds feature prominently in both today’s Senate legislation and the President’s order, but Cassidy says a total ban warrants further study.
Cut 6 (13) “…about that.”
Democrats have attacked the GOP proposal calling it too narrow, instead touting a more expansive House bill.
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A study from Scripps Research Institute indicates the strain of coronavirus circulating the United States appears to show mutations making the virus more stable and abundant than the original strain from Wuhan, China. LSU Health New Orleans molecular geneticist Dr. Lucio Miele says viruses that contain a mutated protein are approximately ten times more infectious.
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With every new infection comes a slight imperfection between the source virus and the new virus protein. Miele says with the more viruses that are out there, the better there is a chance is that one of them is going to hit on a mutation that makes it more infectious.
Cut 8 (12) “…helps it survive.”
He adds letting the virus spread for herd immunity to develop is more dangerous than originally thought. Miele believes figuring out how the virus is changing is vital information in the development of vaccines, treatments, and containment.
Miele says one of the drugs being used for treatment right now, remdesivir works by cause more mistakes in the repetition of the virus.
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A push is being led by a Lake Charles attorney for the removal of a Confederate monument at the Calcasieu courthouse has also received the support of a judge in that courthouse. Attorney Todd Clemons says when you are black and entering the courthouse, the monument sends a message that you don’t have equal rights, having a chilling and intimidating effect.
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Judge Ron Ware has also been vocal that it is time for the monument to come down.
Clemons says he was surprised to see the support from the judge. Clemmons says his frustration had grown over the years after seeing officials support the removal of confederate installments from other areas, but didn’t see that same energy come up in Lake Charles.
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Clemons says he’s seeing plenty of support for the movement and feels confident with that momentum, the monument will be coming down soon.
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Louisiana has now seen three straight days of COVID-19 hospitalizations, the metric used by health officials to track the actual rate of community spread.
Assistant Health Secretary Dr. Alex Billioux says their contact tracing data shows this is largely due to increased social interactions in recent weeks, and possibly because of Memorial Day.
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Billioux says it does not appear this recent increase in transmissions is disproportionately due to new clusters in nursing homes.
Neighboring Texas and Arkansas have seen record-breaking increases in the last week. Billioux says that could be foreshadowing.
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The growth in cases has been largest in the Lake Charles, Alexandria, and Monroe regions.
Billioux says the recent upward trend here, and the record spikes in neighboring states are important reminders that the pandemic is not over and we need to continue wearing masks and social distancing.
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