The state now has just over 17,000 COVID-19 cases, and a total of 652 fatalities. State health officials are encouraged to see the number of COVID-19 patients who require ventilation has gone down, four days in a row. Assistant Secretary of the Office of Public Health Alex Billioux says we are seeing now the results of public behaviors that started two weeks ago and while the trend is promising…
Cut 5 (10)  “…we have already.”
490 COVID-19 patients are on ventilators today, down from 519 yesterday.
A Louisiana Oil and Gas Association survey projects more than 23-thousand jobs in the industry are at immediate risk. LOGA President Gifford Briggs says the coronavirus pandemic and an oil glut has dropped the price of oil 66-percent since January first

Cut 12 (10) “…through the industry”

Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon expects other car insurers in Louisiana to follow Allstate’s lead and offer rebates for premiums paid during the stay at home order. Allstate is paying back customers in the state 13 million dollars in rebates. Donelon says its because the company is saving a lot of money right now.

Cut 6 (10) “America”

The LSU AgCenter and the Louisiana Farm Bureau are surveying crawfish producers to determine the economic damage caused by the coronavirus outbreak. LSU AgCenter economist Kurt Guidry is asking crawfish farmers to turn in their completed surveys to him or call his cell phone at (225) 281-5948

Cut 11 (13) “…through USDA”

The state now has just over 17,000 COVID-19 cases, and a total of 652 fatalities. State health officials are encouraged to see the number of COVID-19 patients who require ventilation has gone down, four days in a row. Assistant Secretary of the Office of Public Health Alex Billioux says we are seeing now the results of public behaviors that started two weeks ago and while the trend is promising…
Cut 5 (10)  “…we have already.”
490 COVID-19 patients are on ventilators today, down from 519 yesterday.
A Louisiana Oil and Gas Association survey projects more than 23-thousand jobs in the industry are at immediate risk. Association President Gifford Briggs calls for the suspension of state severance tax collections for one year, oil and gas storage capacity expanded and legislation to end government-led coastal lawsuits
Cut 14 (08) “…or investment”

Drivers are staying home, and that’s saving auto insurance companies a lot of money. Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon spoke with Matt Doyle about getting those saving passed on to customers…

Cut 1 (30) “…I’m Matt Doyle” 

Nationwide the curve of new coronavirus infections appears to be flattening as the seeds of state-led efforts to implement social distancing appear to be bearing fruit. In Louisiana yesterday we saw our largest single-day reported death total, but new hospitalizations were down and ventilator use was down.

The Louisiana Oil and Gas Association projects over 23-thousand jobs are at immediate risk if oil prices remain low and no immediate action from federal and state governments…

Cut 2 (30) “…I’m Jeff Palermo” 

The Democratic Primary is now basically over as Senator Bernie Sanders drops out.

Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon says he expects other car insurers in Louisiana to follow Allstate’s lead and offer rebates to customers for premiums paid during the stay at home order. Allstate is paying back customers in the state 13 million dollars in rebates. Donelon says it’s because the company is saving a lot of money right now.

Cut 6, 10 seconds, America

Donelon says the company is paying back roughly 600 million dollars to policyholders in the US.

State health officials are encouraged to see the number of COVID-19 patients who require ventilation is no longer increasing. Assistant Secretary of the Office of Public Health Alex Billioux highlights the efforts of the public in social distancing and uptick in good hygiene habits as a major contributing factor.

Cut 4 (08)_ “…next coming days.”

We’ll see if those numbers hold today at the 12 PM update.

A Louisiana Oil and Gas Association survey projects more than 23-thousand jobs in the industry are at immediate risk. LOGA President Gifford Briggs says there are over 33-thousand oil and gas wells operating in the state and half of those could be shut-in. He says prices need to recover to about 40-dollars a barrel for oil by June first… or there will be massive job losses…
Cut 13 (08) “…global economy”
The price of oil has dropped 66-percent since January first.
State health officials are encouraged to see the number of COVID-19 patients who require ventilation is no longer increasing. Assistant Secretary of the Office of Public Health Alex Billioux credits I-C-U doctors who are learning better methods in treating the virus
Cut 3 (10)  “…Bi-pap”  
A Bipap pushes air into a person’s lungs and works much like a C-Pap machine.

Concern about transmitting COVID-19 from humans to pets has grown.  State public health veterinarian Dr. Gary Balsamo says it’s a rare occurrence, but sometimes animals can get sick from exposure.
Cut 4 (09)_ “…the animal directly.”

A tiger in the Bronx Zoo has tested positive for the virus over the weekend.
Questions still remain about how the remainder of the school year will be handled, but much of the determination is left in the hands of each district.  Executive Director for the Louisiana Association of School Superintendents Michael Faulk says rural broadband availability has been a hurdle for some districts, so they have resorted to other methods of getting educational content to students.
Cut 11 (12) “…students the packets.”

70 percent of the people in Louisiana who have died from COVID-19 were African Americans, a group that only makes up a third of the population. LSU Health New Orleans Professor of Public Health Dr. Jim Diaz says relative to other groups African Americans are underinsured.

Cut 8 (10) “…health insurance.”

A survey from Public Policy Polling shows 68 percent of Louisianans approve of Governor Edwards’ handling of the coronavirus crisis. When asked if Governor Edwards or President Trump is doing a better job Edwards lead 46-41 percent.  UL Lafayette Poli Sci Professor Pearson Cross says that’s because the question led to a generic partisan split.

Cut 14 (09) “…support”

Landlords are not legally allowed to evict you in April due to Governor John Bel Edwards’ stay at home order.  A landlord might threaten to call police to have a tenant removed, but Staff attorney at Southeast Louisiana Legal Services Hannah Adams says that is not within police jurisdiction.

Cut 4 (11)_ “…they can handle.”

Allstate says auto insurance policyholders will see a rebate on their April and May premiums due to the lack of driving during the coronavirus pandemic. Real Reform Louisiana, Executive Director Eric Holl says tech companies are showing data that driving is down an average of 55-percent across the state and in some of the more populated areas like New Orleans driving is down as much as 75-percent, Holl says fewer cars means fewer accidents.

Cut 10 (12) “…go down”

Governor Edwards says despite today’s record high reported death total of 70 the general data suggests we are flattening the curve of new infections, and it appears the stay at home order is working to stave off a nightmare scenario where the New Orleans region will run out of ventilators.

A poll shows 66 percent of the state approves of Governor Edwards. It’s a remarkable jump from his approval numbers last year, but UL Lafayette Poli Sci Professor Pearson Cross says you can pin a lot of it on the “rally around the flag” polling effect of a public emergency.

Cut 13 (12) “…that point”

70 percent of the people in Louisiana who have died from COVID-19 were African Americans, a group that only makes up about 32 percent of the state’s population. LSU Health New Orleans Professor of Public Health Dr. Jim Diaz says one reason is that the virus is most prevalent in the New Orleans area.

Cut 6 (08) “pandemic”

Real Reform Louisiana praises Allstate Insurance for offering “Shelter in Place Paybacks” for their car insurance customers due to the number of reduced drivers on the roads. Real Reform Louisiana Executive Director Eric Holl explains what Allstate customers can expect.

Cut 9 (11) “…last month.″

Holl says tech companies are showing data that driving is down an average of 55-percent across the state and in some of the more populated areas like New Orleans driving is down as much as 75-percent.

Landlords can not legally evict tenants due to Louisiana’s stay-at-home order through April 30^th. Staff attorney at Southeast Louisiana Legal Services Hannah Adams says tenants have legal protection from a landlord’s retaliation for not paying rent.

Cut 3 (11)  “…from the home.”  

70 percent of the people in Louisiana who have died from COVID-19 were African Americans, a group that only makes up a third of the population. LSU Health New Orleans Professor of Public Health Dr. Jim Diaz says one reason is that COVID-19 is particularly dangerous for this demographic is that they are more likely to be a risk for certain underlying conditions that are untreated.
Cut 7 (12) “…conditions.”

A survey from Public Policy Polling shows 68 percent of Louisianans approve of Governor Edwards’ handling of the coronavirus crisis. UL Lafayette Poli Sci Professor Pearson Cross says the splits show a surprising 56 to 25 percent approval/disapproval from state Republicans when asked how he’s handling the crisis.
Cut 12 (07) “…as well.”

Landlords may not be able to legally evict tenants due to Louisiana’s stay-at-home order through April 30th, but that doesn’t excuse someone from paying rent nor allow landlords permission to retaliate.  Staff attorney at Southeast Louisiana Legal Services Hannah Adams says it is important to have some sort of documentation on hand showing that you reside at the address in the event that you are accused of not being a tenant.
Cut 5 (12)  “…you live there.”
Allstate says auto insurance policyholders will see a rebate on their April and May premiums due to the lack of driving during the coronavirus pandemic. Real Reform Louisiana, Executive Director Eric Holl says Allstate is setting the example and he’s asking Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon to encourage other insurance companies to do the same because now is not the time to be overcharging customers for car insurance they aren’t using.
Cut 11 (11) “…not driving”

The state reports 70 new COVID deaths today, the new single-day high for fatalities, along with now having over 16,000 confirmed cases, and just under 2,000 COVID hospitalizations. Of those hospitalized a fourth of those patients are on ventilators.

70 percent of those killed by COVID-19 in Louisiana are African Americans, who only make up 32 percent of the population. Matt Doyle asked a medical expert why that is…

Cut 2 (30) “…I’m Matt Doyle” 

Real Reform Louisiana praises Allstate Insurance for offering rebates to their customers due to reduced driving. Real Reform Louisiana Executive Director Eric Holl says tech companies are showing data that driving is down an average of 55-percent across the state and in some of the more populated areas like New Orleans, driving is down as much as 75-percent, Holl says fewer cars means fewer accidents.

Cut 10 (12) “…go down”

A survey from Public Policy Polling shows growing support for Governor Edwards. When asked if Governor Edwards or President Trump is doing a better job, Edwards leads 46-41 percent. UL Lafayette Poli Sci Professor Pearson Cross says that’s because the question led to a generic partisan split.

Cut 14 (09) “…support”

Louisiana reports 70 new COVID deaths today, the new single day high for fatalities, along with now having over 16,000 confirmed cases, and just under 2,000 COVID hospitalizations, 519 of those patients being on ventilators. Two thirds of the cases are still being reported in the New Orleans region, but Shreveport/Bossier and Baton Rouge have a growing caseload. Tensas Parish remains the only parish to not to have a reported case.

The ongoing crisis is crippling the economy and putting a growing number of Americans out of a job, depriving them of the ability to pay their rent. Staff attorney at Southeast Louisiana Legal Services Hannah Adams says the Governor made it illegal to evict people at least through April, and if your landlord is threating to call the police and have you evicted, just know that’s not within their jurisdiction.

Cut 4 (11)_ “…they can handle.”

Texas is maintaining it’s policy of quarantining visitors from out of state that cross into Texas, and having troopers stop some drivers at the border with Louisiana. Governor Edwards says restricted travel is playing a big part in lowering transmission rates, which is why he isn’t faulting Texas’s governor for screening some drivers who cross state lines.

Cut 15 (12)“…just not.”

A survey from Public Policy Polling shows 68 percent of Louisianans approve of Governor Edwards’ handling of the coronavirus crisis and 66 percent now approve of his job performance overall. UL Lafayette Poli Sci Professor Pearson Cross says the splits show a surprising 56 to 25 percent approval/disapproval from state Republicans when asked how he’s handling the crisis.

Cut 12 (07) “…as well.”

Edwards’ overall approval sits at 49 percent among Republicans.