A Tulane social worker warns people may experience a new wave of COVID-related anxiety as states reopen and people experience the new normal. Matt Doyle has the story.
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The deadline is nearing for families of children that received free or reduced-price meals at Louisiana schools to apply for Pandemic EBT cards. Brooke Thorington has more.
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The legislature is expected to give final passage today to tort reform legislation aimed at lowering auto insurance rates. Matt Doyle has more on how that could spark a fight with the Governor…
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Mental health advocates warn that the reopening of the economy may lead to more anxiety as people try to adapt to the new normal. Dr. Tonya Hansel with the Tulane School of Social Work says, to start, limit your news intake, so as not to overstimulate yourself while trying to safely navigate the outside world.
She says if you log in and don’t see any new news to read, put down your phone and don’t check it for a few hours.
Hansel says another way to relieve stress is to reconnect with friends and family outside of your household in safe, outdoor environments…
Experts say viral transmission is a lot less likely outdoors than it is indoors.
Hansel also says another good way to fight stress is to volunteer or donate to causes aimed at helping those impacted by the virus.
She also mentioned wearing a mask while in public can help lower your stress levels when having to leave the house.
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Families of children who receive free or reduced-price meals are eligible for Pandemic EBT cards to help offset those meals lost when schools closed early, but they need to act fast. Syndi Dunn, Louisiana Department of Education spokesperson says applications must be completed by June 8th.
More than 600-thousand children normally receive free and reduced-price meals at schools and any child, prekindergarten through 12th grade is eligible for the Pandemic EBT card.
Dunn says even students who attend Community Eligibility Provisions schools, regardless of income, also qualify for the card.
Participation in other relief programs will not disqualify students from the P-EBT program. Dunn says so far approximately 60 percent of eligible families have applied for the benefits and they want to make sure no one is missed.
For more information go to the Louisianabelieves.com and click on Covid-19 Information and Resources or call 1-888-524-3578
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Tort reform legislation that supporters say will lower auto insurance rates is expected to be sent to the Governor today.
Governor Edwards is not in favor of the bill and UL Lafayette Poli Sci Professor Pearson Cross says if it hits Edwards’ desk he expects it to be vetoed even though it passed by veto-proof majorities.
Cross says a veto override has not been completed in Louisiana since 1993.
Cross says if this bill is passed and vetoed the Governor will likely go to work trying to pick off a few votes in both chambers to avoid a veto override.
Among other things, the legislation lowers the jury trial threshold to 5,000 dollars. The insurance lobby says this will result in fewer costly settlements, savings that can be passed on to drivers.
If Edwards does veto the legislation GOP lawmakers will have plenty of time in the upcoming special session to attempt an override. Cross says the additional time significantly improves their odds.
The special session will begin today after the session ends.
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Governor John Bel Edwards is expected to announce at 2:30 today whether the state is ready to move into Phase 2 of reopening the economy. Edwards says the metrics used to make the decision to move into phase one are still in play for determining whether the state is ready for phase two
Edwards says they are also looking at active cases and testing capacity, which he says continues to improve. He says even if the state goes to phase two that doesn’t mean COVID-19 has left the state…
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The state reported six more deaths yesterday to bring the total to 2,686 statewide.
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Today is the first day of the 2020 hurricane season and there’s the possibility we could see a tropical disturbance in the Gulf of Mexico later this week. National Weather Service Forecaster Stephen Carboni, says what was Tropical Storm Amanda in the Pacific is moving over Central America and
The National Hurricane Center says there’s a medium chance we’ll of something developing in the southern Gulf of Mexico over the next five days. Carboni says if it does develop into a storm, it will be called Cristobal, the third named storm of 2020 and the hurricane season is just starting