Louisiana reports 44 new COVID-19 related deaths today, along with a continued decrease in hospitalizations, and a plateauing in ventilator use. 57 percent of those who have died from the disease are men.
Republican lawmakers who are upset with Governor Edwards extending the stay at home order until May 15th are looking at overriding the emergency declaration. Shreveport Representative Alan Seabaugh says state law allows lawmakers to revoke a governor’s disaster order if a majority of the House or Senate agree to a written petition
The governor’s executive counsel has sent a letter to legislative leadership informing them that rescinding the governor’s order would threaten billions of dollars in federal funding to Louisiana, plus re-opening schools and change unemployment provisions.
Restaurant dining rooms are closed and customers appear to be getting more and more comfortable with grabbing multi-course take-out meals. Raising Cane’s CEO Todd Graves predicts this trend will continue long after the virus is defeated.
Graves made the comments on Talk Louisiana.
Personal finance website WalletHub says their survey shows 43 percent of Americans are comfort buying, spending more on non-essentials now than they were before the pandemic. Around 60 percent of people aged 30-44 report comfort buying compared to just 32 percent over the age of 59. Analyst Jill Gonzales says in terms of the non-essential purchases, most of it is related to entertainment.