The PMAC at LSU has turned into a production facility for PPE. Brooke Thorington explains.
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National Weather Service indicates at least seven tornadoes ravaged north Louisiana and that number is expected to grow. Kevin Barnhart has the story.
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There’s activity underway again at the PMAC on LSU’s campus but it’s not the norm. Ashley Arceneaux, Chief of Staff for the LSU President says the university community is working together to support medical providers and the facility has become a production center for PPE, like reusable gowns from billboard vinyl with locally donated materials.
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Arceneaux says the vinyl is donated by Lamar Advertising and Circle Graphics.
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Also being manufactured are masks from materials donated by Baker Hughes. GOHSEP then takes the gowns and masks that are produced and distributes them to facilities in need.
For health and safety precautions no more than 40 employees can be in the PMAC at one time, but Arceneaux says it’s a joint effort of hundreds of employees and outside vendors coming together for the greater good.
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Arceneaux says the project has brought together multiple experts at the university for example engineering, biomedical engineering, medical physics, facilities services and sewing machines from the theater department.
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The National Weather Service has confirmed at least seven tornadoes ravaged north Louisiana on Easter Sunday. N-W-S Meteorologist Brad Bryant says the most powerful twister started in West Monroe and traveled for about eight miles.
Cut 6 (10) “…low-end EF-3 damage.”
Bryant says tornadoes also impacted Northwest Louisiana in De Soto Parish.
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Unlike neighboring Mississippi, Louisiana had no fatalities from the storm activity. Bryant says it is surprising that there was no loss of life in the state.
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LSU Health New Orleans has enrolled its first patient in a clinical trial that will evaluate the safety and effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine alone or with Azithromycin as a treatment for COVID-19. Infectious Disease Specialist Dr. Meredith Clement says they are enrolling patients who meet these criteria…
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The study may enroll up to 600 at University Medical Center, if they have enough patients eligible.
Patients will be sorted into three groups that either get the treatment or don’t, and Clement says once admitted…
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Patients receiving the treatment will do so for five days.
Clement says the drugs are not without their side effects, so patients will be closely monitored.
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Hydroxychloroquine is an anti-malarial drug, and Azithromycin is an antibiotic. Clement says there is some evidence that these medications can shorten the disease and decrease the amount of virus in respiratory samples.
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Covington Representative Mark Wright joins Oil City Representative Danny McCormick in calling for the stay at home order to end April 30th as currently scheduled.
The Northshore Republican says businesses should be allowed to implement rules that allow for partial reopening, including dine-in options for restaurants.
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He pointed to other examples like small retail stores allowing shoppers to enter one at a time.
Wright says those who are most vulnerable to the virus are aware of their risk factors and can make their own decisions.
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Wright says the state needs to look at easing restrictions like our neighbors in Texas and Oklahoma and starting May 1st reopen as much as possible.
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Federal models call for the continuing of stay at home orders nationwide through May to avoid another major reoccurrence of COVID-19.
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Louisiana hit a somber milestone today as it reported a single-day high 129 additional deaths from COVID-19, bringing the state’s death toll past a thousand to 1,013. Governor Edwards says the virus is nothing to mess with, so it’s incumbent that residents follow the Stay at Home order…
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The state health department says most deaths come eleven days after the onset of symptoms. Assistant Health Secretary Alex Billioux says if are someone in the high-risk group of individuals who can die from the coronavirus, take extra precautions…
Cut 16 (14) …people”