Governor Edwards could announce today a loosening of restrictions on residents and businesses once the current stay at home order ends on April 30th. Kevin Barnhart has the story.
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A team from LSU develops a smartphone app to help track medical equipment and supplies that are in transit around the state. Kevin Barnhart has the story.
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Louisiana’s ban on elective surgeries ends today, which means after a month-long hiatus, doctors can go back to performing non-emergency medical and surgical procedures…
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Governor John Bel Edwards could announce today new restrictions on residents and businesses that will go into effect on May 1st. Public Affairs Research Council President Robert Travis Scott says a big question is whether Louisiana’s coronavirus testing capacity can stay ahead of the epidemic
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Scott says childcare social distancing guidelines and the availability of such services may create hurdles for parents that have a chance to return to work.
Cut 5 (11) “…go to work.”
Many businesses are eager to re-open. But Scott says there is an underestimated problem in getting commerce and industry going again and that is the potential legal liabilities against a business if an employee or customer gets COVID-19…
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A team from LSU develops a smartphone app to help track medical equipment and supplies that are in transit around the state. LSU Stephenson Disaster Management Institute director Brant Mitchell says ComTrac 2.0 was developed to follow the same idea of tracking resources after a hurricane.
Cut 7 (12) “…those particular assets.”
Mitchell says almost all of the development for the application was done by LSU students and says with classes being out, it allowed them to have extra time to dedicate to the building process which would normally take about six months.
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While the app will be compatible with the two major smartphones, it won’t be available to everyone in the App Store. The app could help tackle issues related to supply chains. Mitchell says the app is customizable to add items in the future that may not have been thought of yet.
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ComTrac 2.0 will be available to the National Guard this week.
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Senator Bill Cassidy says the feds are looking at investments that could allow economies to become close to fully functional even before a coronavirus vaccine is available.
The 1,200 dollar stimulus checks helped float many through the first month of the shutdown, and Cassidy says if we can expand testing enough we won’t need a second round.
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Cassidy says aggressive, preemptive testing in hotspots will need to be funded. He says the key to reopening the economy safely is tracking transition rates and adjusting reopenings accordingly.
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Cassidy says the reopening of the economy should also be tied to the ability to contact trace. He says the federal government should provide hotels and meals to those who are ordered to quarantine.
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For the first time in a month, many elective medical surgeries are set to proceed in Louisiana.
State Health Officer Dr. Jimmy Guidry says emergency procedures have been happening, but medical centers will now be allowed to catch up on much need time-sensitive, but less pressing surgeries.
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Your trip to the doctor will not be the same as it once was. Guidry says medical facilities have strict social distancing guidelines to follow.
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Waiting room space will either be limited or not available during this time.
Governor Edwards says now that cases have plateaued we have to resume normal medical care.
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The Governor also adds these elective procedures are the economic lifeblood of hospitals that have taken a huge financial hit over the last month.
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The Saints 2020 draft class consists of just four players, but the franchise believes it will be a successful class. In the first round New Orleans drafted Cesar Ruiz, a center from Michigan and then traded multiple picks to select two players in the third round, Wisconsin linebacker Zack Baun and Dayton tight end Adam Trautman. G-M Mickey Loomis says it’s about the quality of the picks, not how many you made…
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These rookies will not have the benefit of an offseason conditioning program or O-T-As. But Saints coach Sean Payton doesn’t believe they will be too far behind when training camp starts
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The Saints sent their fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh-round draft picks to Minnesota to take Trautman with the 105th pick. The F-C-S tight end had 70 catches for 916 yards and 14 touchdowns last season. Trautman was a quarterback in high school but switched to tight end when he got on Dayton’s campus
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The Saints made a trade with the Texans to get a seventh round pick and used that select Mississippi State quarterback Tommy Stevens. He has a lot of athleticism for someone who is six-foot-five and could play a Taysom Hill role for the Black and Gold.