Our neighbors in Texas and Mississippi are dropping their mask mandates but Louisiana is not following suit. Matt Doyle has more.
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Health officials say another unproven medication is making the round os on social media as a way to treat COVID symptoms. Brooke Thorington has more…
Cut 2 (31) …I’m Brooke Thorington.”
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Louisiana is dead last in the 2021 Childhood Report that ranks how well states provide for and protect children during the pandemic. Senator Bill Cassidy says he hasn’t read the report in full but believes it’s weighted towards the lack of internet access for many children and…
Cut 3 (11) “…learning.”
The report examines child poverty, child deaths, hunger, dropout rates, and teen pregnancy.
Cassidy says while Louisiana does have a high rate of in-person learning that includes hybrid models where students are in the classroom two days a week and virtual the other three.
Cut 4 (12) “…reopen.”
Cassidy says there’s been federal funding dedicated to helping schools during the pandemic and only half has been spent.
While rural areas of the state are known for lack of broadband access, it’s become even more contentious since school systems moved to virtual learning Cassidy says he working with local and state officials to increase access.
Cut 5 (11) “…they live.”
The report finds Lincoln Parish as the best for children and Madison Parish as the worst in the state. The report states there was no significant data for Cameron and Tensas parishes.
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Louisiana moved into Phase Three COVID restrictions today but health officials warn that doesn’t mean the pandemic is over.
Our neighbors in Mississippi and Texas dropped their mask mandates but State Health Officer Dr. Joe Kanter says we won’t be doing the same.
Cut 6 (12) “…vigilant.”
Under Phase Three most businesses can move to 75 percent capacity in Louisiana but social distancing and mask-wearing are still mandatory.
The December/January spike was the largest the state ever experienced but…
Cut 7 (05) “…significant.”
Despite that progress, the state has still never dropped below 500 COVID-related hospitalizations. As of Wednesday 588 patients remain hospitalized.
Kanter says the plan moving forward is to ramp up the vaccination campaign fast enough to offset the rapidly growing number of variant cases.
Cut 8 (09) “…Louisiana.”
The UK variant, which is more contagious and believed to be more deadly, is expected to be the dominant strain in Louisiana sometime this month.
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It’s been one year since the Southwest Louisiana Veterans Cemetery was dedicated in Jennings. 84 veterans and their loved ones have been buried there and cemetery director Dwayne Guidry says they have 17-hundred burial spots available across ten acres
Cut 9 (09) “…our veterans”
Guidry says there are no fees to bury a veteran and the cost for spouses and dependents is 745-dollars. He says full military honors are also available and the cemetery is held to the highest standards…
Cut 10 (11) “…veteran cemeteries.”
Guidry says 35-thousand southwest Louisiana veterans and their families have this cemetery as an option for eternal rest. He says if any vets are interested, just reach out to the Southwest Louisiana Veterans cemetery…
Cut 11 (10) “…a spot.”
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Since the pandemic began there’s been vast amounts of misinformation and medical theories about what can cure or curtail COVID-19. Some have tried a drug used on horses called ivermectin (ai-ver-mek-tn,) Director of Louisiana Poison Control center Dr. Mark Ryan says based on the few studies done, it’s not proven to treat COVID.
Cut 12 (08) “ …the case.”
Even though the ivermectin is most often prescribed for horses, the antiparasitic is also used in humans, but Ryan says taking the drug without oversight from a physician could be dangerous.
Cut 13 (08)“…taking it..”
Ryan says ivermectin was at one time used in hospitals to treat patients when nothing else proved to be effective, but as physicians have found more useful drug therapies the medication has been removed as an option.
Cut 14 (07) “…COVID.”
Ryan says never try to treat yourself, especially with nonproven drug therapy, without the oversight of your physician.