The New Orleans region is now projected to run out of ventilators for COVID-19 patients on April 6th. The state received 150 ventilators from the feds today, but that number has already been factored into models warning of a shortage this weekend. Governor Edwards says at least…
Cut 10 (09) “…ICU”
490 COVID-19 patients are on ventilators in Louisiana as of the noon update.
LSU’s DeepDrug team is using artificial intelligence to analyze anti-viral drugs, or drug combinations that could be used to treat COVID-19 patients. Once the ten to fifteen possibilities are discovered, LSU Computer Science Professor Supratik Mukhopadhyay (Moo-co-pod-a) says LSU will move to test them in more traditional clinical and lab settings.
Cut 14 (08) “…week”
DeepDrug is a current semifinalist for the IBM Watson AI X-PRIZE.

Baton Rouge Congressman Garret Graves is encouraging small businesses to get a jump on filling out applications for the Payroll Protection Act. Small businesses can apply to receive low-interest loans, with money that is used for payroll being forgiven. Graves says the funding is not intended to float the payrolls of small businesses for the rest of the year.

Cut 5 (08)  “…4 month period.”

The program is part of the $2.2 trillion emergency relief legislation.

As oil prices continue to drop the outlook for Louisiana workers in the industry continues to look bleak. Oil is trading in the low twenties and President of the Louisiana Oil and Gas Association Gifford Briggs says the situation is dire and two weeks ago when he surveyed members the predictions were extreme.

Cut 6 (11) “…90 days.”

The New Orleans region is now projected to run out of ventilators for COVID-19 patients on April 6th. Governor Edwards says they’re scouring the medical community trying to figure out where they might have ventilators that are not in need, even if they aren’t high-powered ICU models.

Cut 9 (10) “…at all.″

490 COVID-19 patients are on ventilators in Louisiana as of the noon update.
LSU’s DeepDrug team is using artificial intelligence to analyze anti-viral drugs, or drug combinations that could be used to treat COVID-19 patients. The FDA has approved about 90 antiviral treatments for general use, and LSU Computer Science Professor Supratik Mukhopadhyay (Moo-co-pod-a) says each will be simulated to see how it would treat COVID patients.

Cut 13 (07) “…them”

Baton Rouge Congressman Garret Graves is encouraging small businesses to get a jump on filling out applications for the Payroll Protection Act. Small businesses can apply to receive low-interest loans, with money that is used for payroll being forgiven. Graves says applications will be accepted starting April 3.
Cut 3 (10)  “…applications are accepted.”  
The program is part of the $2.2 trillion emergency relief legislation, but this particular allocation is subject to a funding cap, adding to the urgency of filing quickly.
As oil prices continue to drop the outlook for Louisiana workers in the industry continues to look bleak. Oil is trading in the low twenties and President of the Louisiana Oil and Gas Association Gifford Briggs says if prices do not recover by June first, storage facilities for oil will reach capacity and that’s when the industry will most definitely see a reduction in workers.
Cut 8 (10) “…everywhere else.”

34 people died over the last day from COVID-19 in Louisiana, down from yesterday’s high of 54, but still one of the highest days on record. We’re now over 6,400 confirmed state cases with 1,500 hospitalizations for COVID, and 490 patients on ventilators.

And with the economy stalling out, Baton Rouge Congressman Garret Graves urges small businesses to start filling out the application for the Payroll Protection Act….

Cut 1 (29) “…I’m Kevin Barnhart” 

As oil prices hover in the low 20s the outlook for Louisiana workers in the energy sector is looking increasingly precarious. President of the Louisiana Oil and Gas Association Gifford Briggs says local companies are taking a huge hit in profits not only from the virus but also from Saudi Arabia and Russia ramping up production. Briggs says the two factors have resulted in a 90-percent reduction in prices for Louisiana Light Sweet Crude Oil since January.

Cut 7 (07) “…three months.”

Briggs also blames the Saudi/Russian price war for industry struggles.

When you combine requests to the feds and private companies, Louisiana has requested 14,000 ventilators ahead of what could be a shortage impacting the state starting this weekend. Governor Edwards says when you see that 14,000 number though, that doesn’t mean that many people will need the devices.

Cut 11 (11) “…time.”

The New Orleans region could run out of ventilators for COVID-19 patients sometime this weekend. Governor Edwards says they’re scouring the medical community trying to figure out where they might have ventilators. The state will be receiving about 150 ventilators from the feds today, but that number has already been factored into models warning of a shortage this weekend. At least…
Cut 10 (09) “…ICU”
490 COVID-19 patients are on ventilators in Louisiana as of the noon update.
LSU’s DeepDrug team is using artificial intelligence to analyze anti-viral drugs, or drug combinations that could be used to treat COVID-19 patients. LSU Computer Science Professor Supratik Mukhopadhyay (Moo-co-pod-a) says drugs like hydroxychloroquine appear promising, but cardiac patients shouldn’t take the anti-malarial…
Cut 12 (07) “…patients”

Baton Rouge Congressman Garret Graves is encouraging small businesses to get a jump on filling out applications for the Payroll Protection Act. Small businesses can apply to receive low-interest loans, with money that is used for payroll being forgiven. Graves says the funds will help keep businesses from making layoffs and firings.
Cut  4 (07)_ “…families above water.”
The program is part of the $2.2 trillion emergency relief legislation, but this particular allocation is subject to a funding cap, adding to the urgency of filing quickly.

As oil prices continue to drop the outlook for Louisiana workers in the industry continues to look bleak. Oil is trading in the low twenties and President of the Louisiana Oil and Gas Association Gifford Briggs says the situation is dire and two weeks ago when he surveyed members the predictions were extreme.
Cut 6 (11) “…90 days.”

The state is reporting 6424 cases of the coronavirus and 273 deaths an increase 1,187 cases, just shy of yesterday’s highest reported increased. The death toll increased by 34 today.  1498 of the reported cases are currently hospitalized.

The oil price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia and the coronavirus pandemic has brought the state’s oil and gas industry to its knees. Jeff Palermo has the story…

Cut 2 (31) “…I’m Matt Doyle” 

The New Orleans region is facing a potentially life-threatening situation, according to current projections, of running out of ventilators sometime this weekend. Governor Edwards says they’re currently scouring the medical community trying to figure out where they might have ventilators that are not in need, even if they aren’t high-powered ICU models.

Cut 9 (10) “…at all.″

Baton Rouge Congressman Garret Graves is encouraging small businesses to get a jump on filling out applications for the Payroll Protection Act. Graves says the funding is not intended to float the payrolls of small businesses for the rest of the year.

Cut 5 (08)  “…4 month period.”

The program is part of the $2.2 trillion emergency relief legislation, but this particular allocation is subject to a funding cap, adding to the urgency of filing quickly.

Tuesday was the deadliest day in Louisiana’s fight against the coronavirus as the state reported 54 new deaths to bring the death toll to 239. Louisiana is also reporting 52-hundred cases as over 12-hundred new cases were reported yesterday. Governor John Bel Edwards…
Cut 8 (09) “…gets.”
Edwards says they know that the stay-at-home order and social distancing works and we’ll eventually see the results.

Baton Rouge Congressman Garret Graves is encouraging businesses to get a jump on filling out applications for the Payroll Protection Act. Small businesses can apply to receive low-interest loans, with money that is used for payroll being forgiven. Graves says applications will be accepted starting April 3.

Cut 3 (10)  “…applications are accepted.”  

Pastor Tony Spell of the Life Tabernacle Church in Central in East Baton Rouge Parish faces six misdemeanor charges for holding large services, which goes against Governor Edwards ban on large gatherings. East Baton Rouge District Attorney Hillar Moore on why six counts…

Cut 11 (11) “…different days.”

More charges could be coming, as Reverend Spell held another large service last night.

Tulane Medical Center Laboratories might have an answer to the widespread frustration over the wait for test results for the coronavirus. Medical Director Dr. Byron Crawford says they already have the recently approved FDA equipment on-site and he’s confident this kind of technology will be widely available to other medical centers, and soon.

Cut 15 (08)“…patients”

The project is a joint venture by Tulane, LSU School of Medicine, Children’s Medical Center, and UMC

The 54 new COVID-19 deaths reported yesterday were by far the largest total of deaths the state has seen in any 24-hour period. Matt Doyle has reaction from the Governor…

Cut 2 (30) “…Matt Doyle ”

St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff Office announces a curfew on all residents beginning at 9 p.m. today. The curfew will run every day from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. due to the imminent threat of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the alarming rise of cases. Essential workers are exempt.

The Louisiana Workforce Commission has given the green light to eligibility for gig economy workers such as Uber and Lyft drivers to apply for unemployment assistance.  LWC executive director Ava Dejoie says if someone has recently applied and been denied, for being a 1099 employee, waiter or waitress, or rideshare driver, eligibility will be retroactive.

Cut  4 (10)_ “…of your filing”

There’s widespread frustration about how long it can take to get results back for a coronavirus test, but at the Tulane Medical Center Laboratories results only take four hours. Medical Director Dr. Byron Crawford says initially the only FDA approved test was a manual procedure, but the feds recently OK’d a new procedure using equipment Tulane has on-site.

Cut 13 (07) “…hours.”

The Louisiana Health Department reports over 12-hundred new cases and 54 additional deaths to bring our total COVID 19 cases to 5,237 and 239 deaths. Since the state is showing no signs of flattening the curve. Edwards have now requested double the hospital beds for the Morial Convention Center in New Orleans. Governor John Bel Edwards plans to extend his stay at home order until April 30th, which means schools will remain closed for at least the next month. The state has already waived standardized tests for this year, but what if school does not resume this year. How can you decide if a child should be promoted to the next grade or if they are eligible to graduate high school?  Edwards says the state department of education is trying to figure out those questions…
Cut 13 (07) “…young people”
The Bonnet Carre Spillway may be opened later this week due to forecasts of the river rising above flood stage.

Legislators returned to the state capitol today, introduced some bills and left about an hour later. It’s unclear when they’ll return. House Speaker Clay Schexnayder says because of the uncertainty around the COVID-19 outbreak, they are not setting a return date
Cut 14 (11) “…come back”
The 2020 legislative session must conclude by June 1st and a budget must be approved by July 1st.
Due to Louisiana’s hotbed of COVID-19 cases, Texas’s Governor is attempting to mitigate the spread with a mandate requiring a quarantine for Louisiana travelers coming into the Lone Star State. Louisiana State Police Trooper Dustin Dwight says anyone who has a previously scheduled medical trip along with a few other exemption statuses can skip the quarantine.
Cut 8 (09) “…apply to them.”
Dwight adds that he has not heard about any checkpoints at the Texas line.

Governor John Bel Edwards plans to extend his stay at home order until April 30th, which means schools will remain closed for at least the next month. The academic year is scheduled to be completed in May. Edwards says acting state superintendent Beth Scioneaux is working to develop a plan

Cut 12 (10) “…of things”

Due to Louisiana’s hotbed of COVID-19 cases, Texas’s Governor is attempting to mitigate the spread with a mandate requiring a quarantine for Louisiana travelers coming into the Lone Star State. Louisiana State Police Trooper Dustin Dwight says Louisiana travelers need to fill out a form from Texas Department of Public Safety before embarking on their trip.

Cut 7 (10) “…14-day quarantine station.”

Legal ramifications have come down on Rev. Tony Spell, the pastor at the helm of the Life Tabernacle Church in Central that has repeatedly defied the Governor’s ban on large gatherings with congregations regularly exceeding 1,100.  Central Police Chief Roger Corcoran says Spell was charged with six counts of violation of the emergency order.

Cut 10 (11) “…him this week.”

AARP Louisiana is holding a Telephone Town Hall Meeting Wednesday to answer seniors concerns about the coronavirus. State Director Denise Bottcher says Dr. Benjamin Springgate with LSU Health Sciences will be on the call to answer health-related questions.

Cut 3 (10)  “… be doing”