A new, more infectious strain of coronavirus is spread in southeast England. Matt Doyle spoke with an LSU Health New Orleans professor about the concerning news…
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A Legislative Auditor’s report raises concerns that lab delays in reporting COVID test results are hampering the state’s contact tracing program. Matt Doyle has the story.
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The latest relief bill from Congress adds extra provisions to assist the already starving restaurant industry. Brooke Thorington has more.
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To keep residents of Cameron and Calcasieu Parishes from going without a Christmas meal, Second Harvest is distributing holiday staples today thanks to a sizable donation from Chevron. Second Harvest Food Bank Spokesperson Natasha Curley says they will be giving away food at the Lake Charles Civic Center from 10 until noon.
Cut 4 (10) “…our community.”
Second Harvest has already provided more than three million meals to the area since the hurricanes. Curley says Chevron’s additional donation of $50 thousand for today’s distribution shows their ongoing commitment to the area.
Cut 5 (12) “…challenging times.”
Curley says the economic downturn of the pandemic had already increased demand for food banks and two devastating hurricanes only added to the challenge for southwest Louisiana.
Cut 6 (10) “…very devastating.”
If you’d like to donate to Second Harvest you can visit their webpage at no-dash-hunger-dot org
www.no-hunger.org
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UK authorities had to put southeast England in a hard quarantine over the weekend after discovering a new, more infectious strain of coronavirus spreading through the population.
LSU Health New Orleans School of Medicine Professor Dr. Fred Lopez says with the vaccine rollout underway it’s vital those in the area be tested rigorously…
Cut 7 (07) “…strain.”
Other concerns include fears that current diagnostic tests and antibody treatments may not be as effective against this new strain.
Lopez warns it is quite possible that this new strain could cross the Atlantic and begin plaguing the US. For example, the pandemic may have begun in China, but for America…
Cut 8 (10) “…plane.”
While reports indicate it is at least 70 percent more infectious it does not appear to be any more deadly.
Lopez says healthcare professionals have a lot of work to do containing and studying the new strain, but for the general public…
Cut 9 (10) “…transmission.”
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A Legislative Auditor’s report raises concerns that COVID test results are not getting reported to the Department of Health fast enough for effective contact tracing.
Data Analytics Manager Chris Magee says laboratories are not reporting all results to LDH within the legally mandated 24 hour time period. For 20 percent or more of tests…
Cut 10 (09) “…plus.”
The report did discover that the COVID numbers on the LDH dashboard are accurate and not being over-reported. The Auditor’s office estimates only point four percent of reported tests are duplicates.
The report found that the labs’ failure to not only report results but include adequate information to identify positive patients is significantly hampering the effectiveness of contact tracing.
Cut 11 (06) “…timely.”
Another issue noticed was that many large organizations like professional sports teams and major employers that mass test regularly were not reporting their data to LDH. The report suggests that could be artificially increasing the statewide positivity rate, a claim LDH strongly disagreed with.
The report makes some recommendations for addressing the issue. Magee says one is for LDH to better identify who the slow reporting labs are…
Cut 12 (09) “…reporting.”
LDH disagreed with some of the report’s suggestions, saying that receiving some outdated testing results was likely unavoidable given the onboarding process for new labs and that they already have procedures in place to address slow reporting labs.
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Included in the $900 billion Pandemic Relief bill are provisions to assist the struggling restaurant industry. Louisiana Restaurant Association President Stan Harris says the bill gives a second round of the Paycheck Protection Program for restaurants that include loan forgiveness and 24-weeks to spend the capital.
Cut 13 (10) “…to borrow.”
Harris says the pandemic has been devastating to the restaurant industry in Louisiana forcing one in six eateries to close their doors and he fears that the number is growing. Harris says while they appreciate Congresses’ latest round of relief for many restaurants it is too late.
Cut 14 (07) “…liquidity.”
Harris says this bill offers enhanced access to PPP for companies with less than 300 employees which focuses relief on smaller eating establishments on the verge of bankruptcy.
Cut 15 (08)“…important.”
Almost 90-percent of restaurants report a decline in sales this year with revenue down 36-percent on average.
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After watching Saints quarterback Drew Brees struggle to complete passes in Sunday’s loss to Kansas City, some in Who Dat nation wonder if the 41-year-old should have waited another week. Brees says he felt good while warming up for the Eagles game the week before and he also admits he doesn’t like not playing
Cut 16 (11) “…sense of urgency.”
The loss against the Chiefs was the second in a row for the Black and Gold. Brees says winning the final two games of the regular season is important as they look to build up momentum heading into the postseason
cut 17 (26) “…playoffs.”
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Tulane will face a 6-and-2 Nevada Wolfpack team in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl at 2:30 PM in Boise. The Wolfpack finished third in the Mountain West Conference after starting the season 5-0. They rank second in the Mountain West in passing and Green Wave Coach Willie Fritz says Nevada will challenge their defense
cut 18 (15) “…downfield.”