Today’s numbers show there can be no doubt, Louisiana is back on a sharply upward trajectory of COVID transmission. 1,354 new cases have been discovered, and 47 additional people have been hospitalized bringing the total COVID hospitalizations to 700 compared to our post-April low of 542 June 14th and marks the highest number since June 2nd. 26 additional fatalities are also being reported.
Governor Edwards is pinning this spike in cases not on the move into Phase Two, which increased capacity allowances for many businesses, but on a public that is beginning to slack off on their spread mitigation efforts like mask-wearing and social distancing. Edwards says to reverse this trend they’ll have state workers more aggressively enforce COVID compliance on businesses.
UL System President Jim Henderson says a combination of sports revenue loss and lower student enrollment is leading them to plan for a five percent revenue loss for the coming fiscal year. Many students appear to be considering putting off returning to college while campus life undergoes significant pandemic era changes, and Henderson says they aren’t sugar coating what some of those changes may be…
For the current fiscal year ending June 30th, the UL System is set to suffer a 28 million dollar net loss.
Blaine Kern, Sr., who was widely considered Mr. Mardi Gras, has died. He was 93. Kern was the founder of Blaine Kern Artists, which designs, builds, and stages most of the region’s largest carnival parades. Mardi Gras expert Arthur Hardy remembers Kern as a key figure in the history of Mardi Gras.