Shreveport Mayor Adrian Perkins announces a city-wide masking advisory as Delta variant COVID cases surge statewide. Matt Doyle has more.
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Saints star wide receiver Michael Thomas will likely miss the start of the season after undergoing ankle surgery in June. Jeff Palermo has the story…
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Shreveport joins New Orleans in issuing an indoor mask advisory due to the Delta-fueled surge in COVID cases.
Shreveport Mayor Adrian Perkins says the return to masking is what is needed to hold back the tide of new Delta cases.
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The state has seen a dramatic increase in cases and COVID-related hospitalizations since the start of the month. Since July 1st Louisiana has added 654 new COVID-related hospitalizations erasing five months of progress in three weeks.
Perkins says he made this decision after consulting with healthcare experts.
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Roughly 30 percent of northwest Louisiana is vaccinated according to KSLA TV.
Perkins says returning to masking will save lives and save the economy.
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With only 36-percent of the state fully vaccinated for COVID, health officials warn of the growing risks for unvaccinated individuals, especially with the highly contagious Delta variant. LSU Health Shreveport Infectious Disease Specialist Dr. John Vanchiere says the low vaccination rate equates to only one in three being fully immunized.
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Vanchiere says the Delta variant is responsible for eighty percent of the current cases and the variant is fifty percent more transmissible than the Alpha variant which was fifty percent more contagious than the original. The fourth surge has also sparked the Mayors of New Orleans and Shreveport to issue indoor mask advisories.
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On a positive note, Vanchiere says in the Shreveport area they are vaccinating two and a half times as many people this week compared to a month ago and many are receiving their first dose. He says if you are sick, the most important thing besides staying home is to get tested.
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For a list of vaccination and testing sites visit LDH-dot-LA-dot-gov forward slash Coronavirus.
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The N-F-L Network reports Saints star receiver Michael Thomas will miss the start of the regular season after undergoing surgery in June to repair ligaments in his injured ankle. Saints analyst Mike Detillier says Thomas has not been able to fully recover after injuring his ankle in the 2020 season opener
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Recovery from the surgery is an estimated four months, which means Thomas will likely miss several games. Detillier says Thomas’ absence will make it difficult for both Taysom Hill and Jameis Winston who are trying to replace Drew Brees as the starting quarterback…
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Reports say the Saints are looking for a veteran wide receiver to sign, but the options are limited with training camp set to start next week. Detillier says the Saints are thin at wide receiver after losing Emmanuel Sanders in free agency…
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The National Retail Federation projects record back-to-school spending this year as students head back to class for fall.
NRF spokesperson Katherine Cullen says they’re expecting K-12 shoppers to spend about 850 dollars on average, 60 dollars more than last year.
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College students and their families are expected to spend about 1,200 dollars on average for the upcoming semester. That could result in 71 billion in total spending, up 2.3 billion from last year.
Cullen says back-to-school shoppers are expected to spend about 254 dollars on average on clothes.
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Shoppers are also expected to spend about 300 dollars on average on electronics.
Cullen says after a slump last year it appears that families are returning to brick and mortar, but some online shopping is still popular.
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Governor Edwards issues new statewide COVID public health recommendations due to the rapidly spiraling Delta surge.
Edwards says we’ve seen an explosion in new cases and hospitalizations since the start of the month. Because of this…
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Businesses have also been called to review policies to limit COVID exposure and spread.
There are also new policy recommendations for exposure situations…
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