Governor Edwards says despite today’s record high reported death total of 70 the general data suggests we are flattening the curve of new infections, and it appears the stay at home order is working to stave off a nightmare scenario where the New Orleans region will run out of ventilators.
A poll shows 66 percent of the state approves of Governor Edwards. It’s a remarkable jump from his approval numbers last year, but UL Lafayette Poli Sci Professor Pearson Cross says you can pin a lot of it on the “rally around the flag” polling effect of a public emergency.
70 percent of the people in Louisiana who have died from COVID-19 were African Americans, a group that only makes up about 32 percent of the state’s population. LSU Health New Orleans Professor of Public Health Dr. Jim Diaz says one reason is that the virus is most prevalent in the New Orleans area.
Real Reform Louisiana praises Allstate Insurance for offering “Shelter in Place Paybacks” for their car insurance customers due to the number of reduced drivers on the roads. Real Reform Louisiana Executive Director Eric Holl explains what Allstate customers can expect.
Holl says tech companies are showing data that driving is down an average of 55-percent across the state and in some of the more populated areas like New Orleans driving is down as much as 75-percent.
Landlords can not legally evict tenants due to Louisiana’s stay-at-home order through April 30th. Staff attorney at Southeast Louisiana Legal Services Hannah Adams says tenants have legal protection from a landlord’s retaliation for not paying rent.