LSU Health Shreveport now has the ability to conduct serology tests that check to see if a person has coronavirus immunity. Matt Doyle has more.
_____________________________________
For the first time in its 50-year history Jazz Fest will not happen. Matt Doyle has the story.
___________________________________________
The Department of Education has provided guidelines for local districts in student advancement. Kevin Barnhart has the story.
Cut 3 (30) “…I’m Kevin Barnhart”
____________________________________________
LSU Health Shreveport is bringing testing online that will allow them to check people’s blood for antibodies that may indicate they are immune to coronavirus.
But Immunology Professor Matthew Woolard says it’s not just enough to know if you have anti-coronavirus antibodies, we need to know how effective they are, and how many are needed to be effective.
If a person is found to have effective antibodies they could return to a normal life without fear of getting themselves or others sick.
Woolard says their work will also be to document over time the rate at which a person loses antibodies by retesting a person’s blood every so often…
This research will be done using blood donated to the lab from the LifeShare Blood Center for plasma therapy trials.
The federal plan to reopen the economy uses wide-scale coronavirus testing, but Woolard says their work is important because basic testing can only provide so much information.
______________________________
The cancellations of Jazz and Essence Fest will pummel New Orleans’ expected 2020 tourism revenue, with more festivals likely to announce similar decisions in the near future.
CEO of New Orleans and Company, the city’s convention and visitor’s bureau, Mark Romig says the loss of those iconic events is a blow, but they’ll be back.
Jazz Fest had previously announced it was postponing until fall.
475,000 visitors attended Jazz Fest last year for an estimated 400 million dollar total economic impact. Romig says that money, and money from other festivals is not easy to replace.
An estimated 12 million total visitors stayed overnight in New Orleans in 2018.
Romig says they’re pushing to avoid a total loss. He says large gatherings may be off the table this year but the city still offers other tourism opportunities, but one sector must reopen for that to happen…
New Orleans Mayor Latoya Cantrell has called for the cancellation of all large events, including sporting events, for the remainder of 2020.
____________________________________
Historically, school systems have had assessments to determine promotion for students. In the absence of those assessments this year, Assistant state superintendent Ken Bradford says the Department of Education is advising districts use other tools on the local level to make the determination as to a student’s advancement.
Cut 10 (09) “…went on throughout the year.”
If a student is borderline on their ability to advance, Bradford says there needs to be a sit-down discussion between the parents, teachers, and counselors to hammer out how they can be caught up in time for next school year.
Cut 11 (07) “…through the summer.”
Bradford says the districts can have the freedom to allow teachers to break away from the traditional time restrictions that are normally in place during a regular school year.
Cut 12 (10) “through the summer.”
_________________________________
A group dedicated to delivering meals to children in Southeast Louisiana is granted $50,000 to continue its operations through the summer from the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana for Community Crisis and Disaster Response. Operation Manager for The Three O’clock Project Jeff Landry says has hired more than 350 workers to prepare and distribute the meals.
Many of the workers might not have an income during the pandemic, but Landry believes that they’ve created a business model that helps both workers and children and it could be something other organizations could adopt. Landry adds they are about to expand operations too.
Landry says the group has seen a major uptick in demand, with the group setting a single-day meal distribution high this week.