LSU-Shreveport is one of five sites in the world to conduct a nitric oxide clinical trial in the treatment of mild to moderate cases of COVID-19. Brooke Thorington has more.
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A significant drop off is expected in how much money the state will have available to spend next fiscal year. Kevin Barnhart has the story.
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Louisiana is ramping up its contact tracing workforce from 70 to 250, with the goal of eventually hiring up to 700 people to track down residents who may have been infected with coronavirus…
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LSU-Shreveport is one of five sites in the world to conduct a nitric oxide clinical trial in the treatment of mild to moderate cases of COVID-19. Principal Investigator Dr. Keith Scott says patients will inhale very high doses of nitric oxide twice a day.
LSU-Shreveport is already participating in a clinical trial using nitric oxide for severe COVID patients. While Dr. Scott is hopeful for positive results, he says it will be months before researchers know the best possible treatment.
Dr. Scott says the data still must be compiled and analyzed for treating the virus, but they do know that nitric oxide already provides benefits for the lungs.
Dr. Scott says they are extremely pleased so far with the results but must do their due diligence with the study.
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Governor John Bel Edwards will announce later today whether Louisiana will begin phase one of reopening of the economy on Saturday. Republicans say it’s time to do so. Louisiana’s Republican Congressional Delegation sent a letter to Edwards claiming certain regions meet the crtieria for reopening. Congressman Garret Graves says a uniform standard across the state is a flawed approach.
Cut 7 (12) “…other regional jurisdictions.”
Edwards opposes a regional or parish-by-parish reopening. Graves believes the Governor is not fully taking into consideration the economic consequences of the current plans, adding that there is a way to minimize virus transmission and open businesses to some degree.
Cut 8 (08) “…the adverse implications.”
Edwards has stated he is hopeful Louisiana can enter the first phase of economic reopening this week.
Graves says the economic damage will translate into adverse health effects outside of COVID-19.
Cut 9 (12) “…can be prevented.”__
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The Revenue Estimating Conference meets today to discuss how much money the state will have available to spend next fiscal year and the drop off is expected to be significant. Political analyst Bernie Pinsonat says every facet of state government will be paying attention to this meeting that begins at noon.
Pinsonat says officials have been tight-lipped about what is in the cards, but speculation indicates the shortfall could be anywhere from $500 million to $1.5 billion.
Cut 11 (12) “…the parish level.”
Pinsonat says the economic shutdown will impact the state’s budget for more than a year. He says federal dollars can possibly fill some of the budget holes, but the money from Washington D-C comes with strings attached,..
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Governor Edwards announces plans to hire up to 700 Louisianans to expand the state’s contact tracing program.
The program will be calling people who tested positive for COVID-19 and asking them to detail anyone who may have been infected by them. Edwards says for those interested in the job…
Those interested in the job should email ContactTracing@LA.gocv.
If you are identified as a close contact of a positive case, contact tracers may ask you to self-quarantine for 14 days. Department of Health Assistant Secretary Alex Billioux says that’s the key part of contact tracing.
In the short term, the contact tracing team is being expanded from 70 to 250 members.
Billioux says the program puts privacy at the forefront, and if you are called and asked to quarantine due to COVID exposure…
Initial call center locations will be based in Lafayette and New Orleans and workers will be trained by LSU’s Stephenson Disaster Management Institute.
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