Louisiana reports 70 new COVID deaths today, the new single day high for fatalities, along with now having over 16,000 confirmed cases, and just under 2,000 COVID hospitalizations, 519 of those patients being on ventilators. Two thirds of the cases are still being reported in the New Orleans region, but Shreveport/Bossier and Baton Rouge have a growing caseload. Tensas Parish remains the only parish to not to have a reported case.
The ongoing crisis is crippling the economy and putting a growing number of Americans out of a job, depriving them of the ability to pay their rent. Staff attorney at Southeast Louisiana Legal Services Hannah Adams says the Governor made it illegal to evict people at least through April, and if your landlord is threating to call the police and have you evicted, just know that’s not within their jurisdiction.
Cut 4 (11)_ “…they can handle.”
Texas is maintaining it’s policy of quarantining visitors from out of state that cross into Texas, and having troopers stop some drivers at the border with Louisiana. Governor Edwards says restricted travel is playing a big part in lowering transmission rates, which is why he isn’t faulting Texas’s governor for screening some drivers who cross state lines.
A survey from Public Policy Polling shows 68 percent of Louisianans approve of Governor Edwards’ handling of the coronavirus crisis and 66 percent now approve of his job performance overall. UL Lafayette Poli Sci Professor Pearson Cross says the splits show a surprising 56 to 25 percent approval/disapproval from state Republicans when asked how he’s handling the crisis.
Edwards’ overall approval sits at 49 percent among Republicans.