Louisiana has surpassed 50-thousand COVID-19 cases and three-thousand deaths. Jeff Palermo has more…
Cut 1 (31) “…I’m Jeff Palermo”
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Tulane researchers develop a potential synthetic antibody treatment that could provide COVID immunity for one to two weeks at a time. Matt Doyle has the story.
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A Senate-approved bill that would provide an 83-million dollar tax break over five years for the state’s casinos and race tracks moved closer to final passage as the House Ways and Means Committee approved it today. Crowley Representative John Stefanski voiced his support for the bill and the gaming industry
Lake Charles Senator Ronnie Johns’ legislation would allow each casino to give customers five-million dollars in free promotional play wagers without having to pay state taxes on those amounts. Johns says such a move will help attract people back to casinos, which would lead to more tax revenue from the gaming industry
The bill passed the Senate last week on 26-8 vote. There are some lawmakers who oppose tax breaks for businesses because the state is experiencing a decline in revenues. But Johns says providing a tax break on promotional play wagers will help the gaming industry bounce back from the COVID shutdown
The measure heads to the full House for more discussion.
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The Department of Health is aiming to prevent crisis situations with the launch of the Behavioral Health Recovery Outreach Line. Assistant secretary of the Office of Behavioral Health Karen Stubbs says this line is aimed at relapse prevention in those struggling with stress during the pandemic.
Cut 6 (12) “…or co-occurring disorders.”
Louisiana does have other crisis lines and Stubbs says the hotline model is one that has proven to be an effective resource for those with mental health disorders. Calls received range from those having a tough day to those self-identifying the warning signs of mental or emotional changes.
Stubbs says those working the line are also equipped with the general information about COVID-19.
Cut 8 (06) “…lack of information.”
The phone number is 1-833-333-1132.
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Saturday was the first day of early voting for the July 11th Presidential Preference Primary and election officials say they’ve already received 48-thousand mail-in ballots. Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin says for this election, Louisiana has expanded the acceptable reasons for eligible voters to request an absentee ballot
Pollster John Couvillon says the 48-thousand mail-in votes is the highest first-day mail in volume dating back to 2008.
Anyone who is at a high risk of severe illness from COVID-19, caring for a high-risk person, or experiencing COVID symptoms, can also request an absentee ballot. He says more than 116-thousand absentee ballots have been requested…
Louisiana’s presidential primary is not the only item on the ballot for the July 11th. There are also local races in 24 parishes and party committee positions. Ardoin says returning your mail-in ballot is simple…
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Tulane researchers develop a synthetic antibody treatment for COVID-19 that’s shown promising results in lab mice. Tulane Internal Medicine Chair Dr. Jay Kolls says their protein, MDR504, is able to get into the lungs and neutralize coronavirus in the place where it is most likely to do damage.
Kolls says the treatment is similar to antibody treatment for RSV, a respiratory illness most commonly seen in preterm infants.
Kolls says this treatment is not cost-effective enough to replace a vaccine, but…
Data from the study indicates patients would receive a dose of the antibody every one to two weeks to maintain immunity.
Kolls says the hope is to get this treatment into human trials sometime in the fall, which is impressive considering they started work on MDR504 in March…
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Governor Edwards announces the state will not move into Phase 3 of reopening its economy and it will remain in Phase 2 for another 28 days. Edwards says Louisiana is one of 23 states experiencing an increase in cases and hospitalizations are also on the rise…
Cut 15 (13) “…be hospitalized.”
Health officials say there are 41 more people hospitalized compared to the day before. That’s the single biggest jump since April 20th.
Edwards made the announcement on the day Louisiana surpassed 50-thousand COVID-19 cases and three-thousand deaths