Governor Edwards noted at his briefing, that today marks one-month anniversary since Louisiana reported its first case of the coronavirus. The state now has 18,283 positive cases and has reported 702 deaths. Tonight at 8 pm 150 iconic landmarks across the nation will become beacons of blue to honor healthcare workers, they will include the Louisiana State Capitol, Superdome, Governor’s Mansion, Tiger Stadium, F.G Clark Activity Center and the LA Tech Fountain.
The state health department reports that 130 nursing home residents are among the 702 people in Louisiana who have died from COVID-19. Office of Public Health director, Doctor Alex Bilioux, says it’s critical that employees at these facilities practice social distancing when they are away from work.
Zachary police report a tragic murder-suicide where it’s believed a man shot and killed his two stepchildren the day after his wife, their mother, died. Zachary Police Chief David McDavid says it appears 77-year-old James Brannon shot 48-year-olds Deborah Ross and Beverly Watts. McDavid says officers reported seeing the family out in their yard during their community policing rounds.
McDavid says they believe the shooter was distraught over the loss of his wife, they’ve had an uptick in mental health-related calls in the past few weeks.
Louisiana Crawfish Farmer’s Association President David Savoy says sales for crawfish are at 40-percent of what they were last year. Savoy says the biggest problem they are facing is the cancellation of major 100-150 bag corporate events, and the reduction of family boils from 12 bag events to three to four bag boils.