03182020 COVID-19 Press Conference



GOVERNOR JON BEL EDWARDS: Good afternoon and thank all of you for being here today. Today we are pleased that we are joined by Coach Ed Orgeron who's been instrumental in helping us to encourage people here in Louisiana, and as I recently learned, all across the country to take the necessary precautions around social distancing and other precautions that may help us minimize the spread of this coronavirus, and he's going to talk to us in just a few minutes about our state. It's not just the LSU football team, but our state, one heartbeat, and one team. We also have Attorney General Jeff Landry. I appreciate him being with us today. He's going to update us after I finish speaking on price gouging and scams that unfortunately are happening at this time and some other matters that are taking up his time and attention as it relates to this disaster. And then we have Dr.?Alex Billioux here from LDH to answer questions if you may have them once we get to the questionandanswer session. Now, our state, like the rest of the nation, is taking increasingly aggressive actions to respond to the spread of COVID19. And I want to remind everybody that these recommendations that we're implementing all come from the CDC. And, in fact, I've now had the opportunity to speak directly with the President, the vice president on multiple times. The surgeon general was here last week. He continues to be in touch with me. Admiral Brett Giroir after, who is the head of the entire testing effort for the country happens to be a Louisiana native, and he is somebody that I have spoken to on multiple occasions. And, again, everything we're doing is based on the most recent CDC guidance. And these measures went into place yesterday pursuant to a proclamation that I issued the night before and they include closing bars, casinos, and gyms, limiting restaurants to takeout, delivery, and drivethru, limiting all gatherings to 50 people. For those who in a high risk category, the CDC is recommending contact with no more than ten people, and that's only when necessary. We really need those individuals who are at high risk, those who are older and those who have underlying chronic health conditions to minimize their contacts with others, period. The bottom line, is this, and this is probably the most urgent plea that I have issued today. Based on all the information that we have and the guidance we're receiving as a nation and as a state, we have two weeks. We have two weeks to minimize the spread of COVID19, and we can only influence that if we are doing what we are being asked to do. We need people to comply with, adhere to these precautionary measures. Now, while we have two weeks to influence this spread, please understand. This fight against coronavirus is going to last much longer than the next two weeks. We don't want to look like Italy two weeks from now, and I guess that's just the easiest way I can say it. There is no reason believe we won't look like Italy unless we do what we're being asked to do between now and then and minimize the spread. You know, we have to make sure that we flatten the curve. That's what we've been talking about so we have fewer people infected at any given time. So that's flattening the curve and you extend the duration, because what we cannot have happen is we exceed our capacity to deliver critical healthcare. And so we cannot place the demand on our hospitals all at the same time. At the same time, we have a limited amount of time to increase our surge capacity to deliver healthcare, and we're doing these things simultaneously, and we're working extremely hard. An update on the cases, and this is an update because I got new numbers just before I came in. We now have 257?cases in Louisiana, two new cases here in Baton Rouge. I am sad to report that we also have two more deaths this morning, both at the Lambeth House in New Orleans, a 98yearold individual and a 92yearold individual, and that brings the number of deaths at Lambeth House to four. In more than a week at our state lab, we've been able to do about 600 tests for persons under investigation. In two days, the Baton Rouge test site did 400 tests. Now, those tests haven't been run at the lab. Those results are not yet in, but I give you that information so that, you know, that we're increasing our testing capacity, and that's a good thing. Because until we administer a lot more tests out there across the state of Louisiana, we're not going to be able to identify as many individuals as we know are likely to be carrying the coronavirus at this time. So we're starting to get commercial lab results in, and the federal government and some private organizations have started standing up their own drive through sites and you'll see those come online in the New Orleans and Jefferson Parish area, we hope, by Friday of this week. And that is our plan now. But this is the reason I relate this to the public. Over the next 24 to 36?hours, in all likelihood, you're going to see the number of cases in Louisiana jump tremendously because we're going to get test results, probably over 1,000 test results all at one time. And I want people to be prepared for this as best they can. This is unfortunately just the reality of the situation. This is going to get much worse before it gets better. We need for these cases to plateau as soon as possible, and then obviously start declining. But we're a long ways away from that. So I'm trying to get everyone prepared to the best of my ability, but do stay informed. The important thing to remember is that each of these numbers? they're not just cases. They represent our brothers and sisters. They are our fellow Louisianians, fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, family members, coworkers, and neighbors. We have put aggressive measures into place, but we know that this virus can actually be with someone for 14?days before that individual is going to show symptoms. So it's going to take some time to flatten this curve. And I think it was Dr.?Dupe tow on CNN that said that everybody out there should be behaving as if they believe they have coronavirus, because that's really the only way that we're going to be effective. But it's hard to imagine that there's anyway that we can be successful if we don't have our citizens buy into our mitigation records and buy into and adhere to the restrictions. And I will say that it is completely irresponsible for any leader to not only ignore the precautions that have been put in place but also to perhaps encourage others, including some of the most vulnerable people in our populations, in our citizenry, I should say, to violate those measures that are in place specifically to protect them. So we're only going to succeed if we work together. There's still limitations on our access to testing and testing materials. We've been transparent about that, but we are ramping up as quickly as we possibly can. I want everyone who's at risk of COVID19 to get tested and to stress, I'm talking about those who are symptomatic. Testing when you are not symptomatic can cause a false sense of security because it might say that you are negative when, in fact, you are positive. So? and we don't want to use up scarce resources, like our test kit capacity and the time and effort of our healthcare workers to actually administer the test and then for the lab folks to run that test. If you have any questions about whether you can and should be tested, please call 211 if you don't have a primary care physician to call. And I do want to take a moment and thank everybody who's working so hard right now, all across the state, particularly in the New Orleans and Jefferson area, but really all across the state, and the lab workers who are working so hard on behalf of all the people of Louisiana. I am proud and grateful of their tremendous work and dedication and we're going to certainly be thanking them for a very long time. The best thing that our people can do for healthcare workers is to comply with the measures that we put in place to flatten the curve, because that reduces their workload and reduces the chance that they're going to interact with someone who is going to be positive. So obviously the fewer people who get sick, the better for our healthcare workers and for our state as a whole. I do note that this is a difficult time for businesses. There are employees, the general public. I understand that. That's why we're taking a number of measures to support businesses to make all resources available to those who may have been laid off, as well. I'm requesting? I have requested, I should say, assistance from the small business administration. While the request was initially specific two parishes with the highest number of cases, November requested SBA assistance for all 64 parishes in the state. To get the process started, we had to start with those two parishes. However, we have already hurt from the SBA and they are actively considering a statewide program eligibility. I've sent a letter to the President and the vice president earlier today to request flexibility on how we can use existing community development block funds and also for some flexibility on FEMA funds that we have at our disposal. We are hopeful that we'll get to repurpose some of these unspent funds as a part of our overall response to the coronavirus crisis and that we will be able to do so very, very quickly and with tremendous flexibility. If your workplace is temporary closed or if you've been told to take unpaid time off, there is assistance available. As soon as, you know, your employment has been affected by COVID19, you should file an unemployment claim. Usually there's a oneweek waiting period. By the executive order that I signed, we've waived that waiting period and the job search requirement for the time being, so people should understand that. If you've received a letter pertaining to the reemployment services and eligibility assessment, know that your benefits will not be disrupted during this time and employer's experience rating will not be impacted. To file an unemployment claim, please visit hire or call 8667835567. For information about SNAP, text getsnap, GETSNAP, no spaces, to 898211; email lahelpu.dcfs@ or you can call 1888LAHELPU. That is 18885243578. Additionally, we know that times like this can take a toll on people's mental health. We know a confidential hotline that is open 24/7, and that number is 18663107977 and we have expanded telephone capacity to handle a larger call volume than we would normally experience. One point I also want to make is that the proclamation of public health emergency has been amended several times, and one change that I want to point out is that eviction a foreclosure proceedings will not be moving forward at this time. What we can't have is more homelessness at the very time that worry fighting this pandemic and this spread, because that actually is obviously counter productive to that fight. However, the obligation to pay your mortgage and your rent is not suspended. So people should make their payments. So that's one of the many legal deadlines that have been waived, simply because we have? we can't put people out on the streets at this time. We've also announced that LA wallet, the state's official didn't like driver's license will be made available to residents free of charge during this time. You can download LA wallet through the app store on your phone. I know that measures that have been put in place are going to take some time to get used to, and we are asking people to be patient and we're asking people to comply. We are all in this together. We are all in this together. Cook at home. Order take out. Shop at our grocery store as you normally would, but please for only one week at a time, not for a month at a time. Our supply chain is going to be fine so long as we shop normally. And as I always do, I want to remind people of the social distancing practices that we should all be following. To the maximum extent possible, keep 6 feet between yourself and others, avoid large crowds, restrict nonessential travel, avoid hand shaking, stay home if you are sick, wash your hands frequently and for at least 20 seconds. Cover your cough into your elbow. Avoid touching your face and frequently disinfect surfaces. I want to reassure everybody that we're going to get through this. It's going to be difficult. It's going to get worse before it gets better, but how much worse depends upon how we cooperate with one another. And I believe in the people of Louisiana. I believe in the inherent goodness and decency and the generosity of the people of our great state, and so I know that we're going to come together, again, one team, one heartbeat. I'm going to assure you that I will continue working as hard as I can in cooperation with all of our statewide and local partners, but also with the federal government, so that as soon as we have access to relief for people in Louisiana, we make that available to you, as soon as we have access to better information about additional precautions that we need to take, we're going to put those in place. But we are going to get through this. And I'm going to be followed here by Attorney General Jeff Landry. I want to thank him for coming, because we have some unscrupulous people out there who are engaging in some practices that we need to nip in the bud. And so I'm going to ask him to talk about that and anything else that he wants to share with the folks. And then after that we'll be followed by Coach Orgeron. After Coach Orgeron speaks, we'll take your questions.ATTORNEY GENERAL JEFF LANDRY: Good afternoon. Thank you, governor. Thank you all for being here. My name is Jeff Landry, and I'm an Attorney General for the state of Louisiana. Let me say that our Number?1 priority is protecting the health and safety of the people of Louisiana. And if you look to my left and to my right, you can see that we are united in this goal. It governor and I are standing here shoulder to shoulder, and that's how serious of a problem we face here. And I want to say to the people of Louisiana, these are extraordinary times, and they call for extraordinary actions. But this too shall pass, as the governor said. The important thing is that we all work together. As the governor has repeatedly said, on behalf of our state government, the measures he has taken so far are intended to delay the spread of this virus. It's intended to flatten the curve. That buys us time, and time is our friend in that regard. However, time can be our enemy if we don't heed the concerns and the instructions that our state and our federal partners put out. We don't want to be like Italy in a few short weeks, where healthcare providers are overwhelmed, where healthcare is being rationed, where doctors are faced with terrible decisions. In some cases, they have to decide who lives and who dies. We're not here for that. We're better than that. The governor has issued increasingly more restrictive proclamations to address this ongoing and developing situation, and I am certain that the governor is concerned, as I am, about the impact of such actions and what they have on our citizenry and our economy and our state. As the Attorney General, I am of course especially concerned about actions which would seem to limit constitutional freedoms. However, in this special health emergency, the governor is acting based upon his concern, on our concern, for the health and safety of the public. We all want our friends and families and neighbors here in Louisiana to survive through this virus fight. We want to defeat this invisible enemy. I want to thank Coach?O for standing with us today to express the importance of today's message. If anyone can express the importance of a team concept and what winning looks like, it's him. And I have full faith that in the end Louisiana will conquer this epidemic. Make no mistake about it. We're all here asking you all to help us save lives. You know, this isn't the first time Louisiana has had an epidemic. Back in 1905, President teddy Roosevelt described Louisiana's response this way. He said, they took hold of it. And after it started, they controlled and conquer it. And we can do that again. As Attorney General, some have asked me if the governor has the authority to take certain actions, like limiting the size of public gatherings, suspending legal deadlines, and ordering restaurants and bars to limit their service. The short answer is yes. The governor, working with the public health officers and the secretary of department of health, has broad scope of authority in a public healthcare crisis such as this, and it's made to protect you and the public. There are much more drastic measures that could be taken, but he and the rest of our state government are working to not have to engage those drastic measures. To date, I could tell you that he is acting with restraint and consideration for individual liberty and freedoms, and I appreciate that. I feel strongly about those liberties and freedoms, as well. He is asking, as well as I am asking, and Coach?O as well, that the people follow these directives to slow the progress of the virus and ultimately save lives. All of us want these restrictions to be in place for the least amount of time necessary, but we want to ensure that we limit the threats. Restrictions on restaurants and public gatherings are not done to limit individual liberty or political speech. In this specific case, they're done to limit the spread of the virus and to protect people's health and ultimately to save lives. Our staff at the Department of Justice is researching and reviewing the statutes and ensuring that the emergency powers and the tools necessary for not only the governor but the legislature and our courts are within reach in order to protect the public. And we want to make sure that all of this is rooted in common sense. In some cases, we may need to make adjustments to make sure that we stay within the law and the Constitution. We're communicating with the governor and the legislature so that we can ensure that we stay within the scope of our authority while ensuring that we can address this threat. But just like the team you see before you, including Coach?O, we're all working together as a team in this state. So let me remind you of a couple of things. Be patient. Again, we're all working hard to protect you and the public. Please listen to the President of the United States and his coronavirus team when they give you warnings and suggestions on how you can fight back against this virus. Please listen to your state government, to governor Edwards, and his entire team, along with the President, as we give statespecific information. As I said, we're trying at the Department of Justice to help find avenues to ensure that we stay within the law and protect the public here in Louisiana. That could be bumpy, but we are working all in good faith. Of course, please follow the guidelines that the governor has talked about, about personal hygiene. More importantly, I can't stress this enough, stay home if you are sick, except to get medical care. It's important. If you have symptoms, seek out medical attention, but also stay home. The spread of the virus is what we are trying to control. I will also, in addition, say that since the governor declared a public health emergency, we're encouraging Louisiana consumers to be conscientious about price gouging. We are actively working with law enforcement on around 51 allegations of price gouging. If consumers suspect price gouging, they should report it to their local law enforcement agency. We don't want people or businesses to take advantage of this crisis. However, it's important to note that gouging is not attributable to verifiable market fluctuations. So when you report these, we ask that you give the name and address of the merchant, the price and receipt of the item or service, their names and addresses and phone numbers so that they may be reached for further information if needed. Lastly, and unfortunately, please, please, please be careful not to fall prey to scam artists who are seeking to harm you, especially our seniors out there. I will be asking members of the news media and media companies to help us spread that message. Scam artists are using online tools, the telephone, and even mail to try to trick people to spending their money. If you see something that concerns you, call our hotline. Be careful with unfamiliar companies or websites who claim they can sell you hard to find products, usually with very high prices. Never give out our social security number, credit card, or bank account information over the phone or internet unless you have an issue and contact. As you take precautions to protect your health, also take precautions to protect your finances. So in closing, let's all work together as one big Louisiana family to take care of one another. And as your Attorney General, we will continue to work every day, along with the staff in the Department of Justice, to help keep you safe. We can win, and we'll beat this, working together.COACH ED ORGERON: Thank you, Attorney General. I'm here on behalf of the state of Louisiana, a guy that was born in Louisiana, loves Louisiana, and the head coach of the national championship LSU tigers. And I want to encourage everyone to follow the game plan. I just sat in a meeting with the governor. It was the most organized, most intense meeting, the most wellinformed meeting that I've ever been in. I can promise you this. The state of Louisiana is fortunate to have governor Edwards being our leader, and I can tell you this. The state of Louisiana has people all over the state working as hard as they possibly can for us to get through this, but we all know we from Louisiana, we tough, we're resilient. I encourage you to follow the game plan. Just like I asked the tigers, man, we put 11 men on the field, and we fight like tigers. It's about execution. It's about one team, one heartbeat. Everybody pulling together, like this. Like this. Nobody gets in between us. This is not the time to be selfish. I urge young people to stay home. Do the things that you need to do. You don't need to be out on the streets doing all kinds of stuff. This is not the time to do that stuff. I do believe that we have a winning plan. I do believe in the state of Louisiana. Hey, it's going to get tough in the next two weeks. Come on. We tough. Bring it on. Let's just follow the plan, do the things that we supposed to do, and I guarantee you, we will ERNOR JON BEL EDWARDS: Thank you, Coach, and thank you, Attorney General Jeff Landry. Now we'll take some questions. Yes, sir?AUDIENCE MEMBER: Governor, what about? I've had a couple of questions about that from funeral directors. Obviously, it's going to be over 50. GOVERNOR JON BEL EDWARDS: Yeah. Well, we would hope not, and we would hope that they do whatever they can through extended visitation periods to allow people to pay their respects and the extend condolences to the family, but not more than 50 people at a time. And even there, we need people who are most vulnerable, the older, the people with the chronic, underlying health condition to be especially careful. Look, this is a very, very difficult time, and we're asking people to do things that don't come easily to us, you know, but it's critically important that we do this. We have literally about two weeks if we're going to minimize this spread?AUDIENCE MEMBER: Why do you say that? You mentioned earlier, we have two weeks. What? GOVERNOR JON BEL EDWARDS: Well, first of all, it's the information we're getting from the U.S. surgeon general. It is consistent with the information the President and the vice president put out yesterday when they were talking about 15?days. And the next 15?days aren't the only time period that we're going to have to do these things, but they're the most important, and it's most important that we get cooperation and as many people in the public here in Louisiana and around the country to take these measures, these mitigation measures into their daily lives and make sure that they're practicing them. Yes, sir?AUDIENCE MEMBER: What's your response to the church in Central who decided disobey warnings and have service?GOVERNOR JON BEL EDWARDS: Yeah, well, it's like I said earlier, I'm not? I'm not singling out any one service or any one individual. I'm asking everybody across the state of Louisiana, and I feel certain that the vast majority of our public is responding appropriately. I think that that will increase as? as the information is out there in terms of what these restrictions are, why they are necessary, as people watch the news, as they hear from me and from the Attorney General, from the President and Senator Bill Cas and others. It takes a while before I think the public becomes fully aware, but we are asking all of our leaders, no matter if they're local leaders, leaders in the faith community, elected leaders, whatever? our football leaders? we're asking everybody to make sure that we're doing our part and that we're not doing things that are inconsistent with and encouraging others to do things that are inconsistent with these precautions that we? these mitigation measures that we put in place. Yes, sir?AUDIENCE MEMBER: Governor, New York's governor, Andrew Cuomo recently talked about the projection they have. This virus in the apex is probably about 45?days away. They've talked about they need 110,000 hospital beds and they only 50,000. Do you have a projection for Louisiana for how far away this peak is, how many people may be affected during that peak. GOVERNOR JON BEL EDWARDS: Yeah, well, we're working on that. And obviously what we know is that peak is lower if people do in the meantime what we've asked them to do. And we're evaluating our surge capacity at existing facilities. We're creating new bed space and bed count as we move through the next two to three weeks as well. So? and all of this has to be done at the same time so that hopefully you minimize the spread, flatten that curve if you will, increase your capacity, so that you don't overwhelm the system. Now, we are actually going to have a meeting later today and get updated modeling from several different sources, and we will be putting those sources side by side to come up with the best possible estimate of what we're looking at in terms of the total number of cases. And do understand that not every case requires hospitalization and not every case that is hospitalized has the same acuity level. Not all require, for example, the intensive care unit. However, we know that as this spreads across enough of the population, there will be enough demand on those resources that it's going to be problematic. Again, that's why we have to minimize this spread. Yes, ma'am?AUDIENCE MEMBER: Governor, there have been some complaints about people trying to file unemployment and the system continuing to crash. Are you aware of anything being done to shore up all these online systems that you're asking people to move to, both in food stamps and in unemployment?GOVERNOR JON BEL EDWARDS: Well, we're working that aggressively. We're having call volume and online volume that we've never experienced, and so we're having to increase the capacity of these sites. We're working that aggressively, and we're asking people, again, to be patient we're sort of in uncharted territory. We have never had the volume of unemployment claims in the short period of time that we've had over the last several days. And so, you know, just like any individual or private business, it takes some time to accommodate that volume. We're working through that right now. But we encourage people to be patient but be persistent and help will be available to you. Yes, sir?AUDIENCE MEMBER: Does the state intent to enforce the CDC's 50 person limit by breaking up gatherings of more than 50 people?GOVERNOR JON BEL EDWARDS: Well, you know, we will look at that on a case by case basis. Obviously law enforcement is out there. They have the information. There have been instances already where they have had crowds disbursed, and we are? again, we're asking people to comply with what we're putting in place in terms of these mitigation measures. And you will see, on occasion, that law enforcement will enforce those measures. We are doing our very best to talk to event organizers and different individuals about the need to comply, why it's important and to gain their compliance through education and discussion and not so much through enforcement, although that is available to us. Yes, sir?AUDIENCE MEMBER: Governor, can you give us an update on the Lambeth House? A couple days ago, you said the cases were all confined to the independent living wing of that facility. Is that still the case? Has it spread to other parts of the facility? And could you also update us on how many people have been tested and whether that's ongoing. GOVERNOR JON BEL EDWARDS: Well everybody at Lambeth House has been symptomatic, whether they are a worker or a resident has been tested. And what I think I said, just to make clear, is everyone who contracted the virus did so while they were on the independent living side of that facility. One of those individuals, before they knew that the individual was positive, was moved into the Hospice unit, which is on the nursing home side. So we've had it on both sides, but I don't know that anyone who was initially on the nursing home side has yet tested positive. We do know that that is five total deaths from the Lambeth House? four? ? I'm sorry, four. And I apologize. The numbers are changing pretty rapidly. But that's four death at the Lambeth House. This is one place where we have assistance from national epidemiological teams that are helping us manage this cluster. And as of right now, it remains the only cluster that we know of in the state of Louisiana?AUDIENCE MEMBER: Do you know how many positive cases there are at Lambeth House right now? GOVERNOR JON BEL EDWARDS: I don't, and the last number that I had was 12? 13. I forgot you were here, Alex. So some of these questions, look, Alex, feel free to? okay, it's 13 total. Yes, sir?AUDIENCE MEMBER: We know that the number of cases per capita in Louisiana is unusually high compared to the other states. Is the virus worse here, or are we ahead of the curve on testing?GOVERNOR JON BEL EDWARDS: Well, I think we we don't know exactly until this plays out both here and in other states, but you make a great point. And this is one that I've made before to try to highlight what the situation is that we're facing and how urgent this is. A healthcare delivery system in any state is sized to meet the needs of the population, and if we have a higher per capita number of cases than other states, then we're also at greater risk than other states of overwhelming our capacity to deliver healthcare, which, if anything, underscores and makes it much more urgent that we follow these precautionary measures, these mitigation measures too, slow the rate of spread so that we don't exceed our capacity to deliver healthcare. But that is something that is very, very troubling, and I do believe that there are a number of states out there that we're well ahead of in terms of the number of people that we've tested and so forth. And again our testing is going to? it has already ramped up considerably since our earlier? since our early efforts. But I think this is going to have to play out before we know exactly how our state compares or contrasts to others around the country. But I did just get off the phone call with about 40 governors from around the country, sponsored by the National Governors Association. The issues that we're having in Louisiana are not unique to Louisiana. They're happening all over the country. Yes, sir?AUDIENCE MEMBER: Governor, several cities in California have had shelter in place orders put in. Is that something that Louisiana should prepare for. GOVERNOR JON BEL EDWARDS: Well, first of all, I think people ought to start preparing themselves in their own minds for enhanced mitigation measures as they become necessary. And quite frankly, there are only a few more that we could put into place that we haven't already done, that being one of them. I am not here announcing that we're there, and it might not be necessary? hopefully it would not be necessary to do that for the state, but it may be necessary to do that in certain localities, and I think that's what you've seen in a few places. I don't think you've seen any statewide shelter in place orders being given. Yes, ma'am?AUDIENCE MEMBER: Is there any role of the National Guard, particularly in New Orleans, and if so, what services are they? GOVERNOR JON BEL EDWARDS: Well, we've already engaged the National Guard. We have right at 400 soldiers that have been mobilized. They are working. They are providing security and other services. For example, at the Bayou Segnette State Park where we currently have ten individuals who are being housed as they are isolated. These are coronavirus positive individuals who could not go home, either because they have no home to go to or because they have high risk individuals, the elderly or people with underlying chronic conditions, at their home. And so we have National Guard there. But we also have National Guard that are working to stand up these three test drivethru sites that again we expect, we hope, will be open on Friday. Two of those in New Orleans, one in Jefferson Parish. And of course the National Guard is leaning forward, and they're prepared to accept additional missions as we need to have them perform those roles. Yes, ma'am?AUDIENCE MEMBER: Governor, two questions. I know that lieutenant governor Billy Nungesser offered two other state park sites as needed. Are they going to be used to do the same thing that's being done at Bayou Segnette, or have they been used yet at this point? And then the other question is: It seems as though the start date for those drivethru testing sites in New Orleans and Jefferson keeps getting pushed back. What are the logistical problems that y'all are running into?GOVERNOR JON BEL EDWARDS: Okay, I'll try to take the second question first. We are not receiving the supplies from the federal government to start running those tests until about noon tomorrow, and tomorrow is Thursday. That's why we're going to open on Friday. However, subject to the supplies coming in. But we the local officials in Jefferson and in Orleans, all the healthcare workers, the National Guard, we are ready to run these sites. We just need the test kits, the PPE, the other things that the federal government is sending down in order to have those sites operate. So that's why it's moved. And to be very fair, when Admiral Giroir announced over the weekend that these sites would be set up, he indicated mid week to the end of the week as the window. So obviously we were hopeful we would do it today, then we were hopeful we would do it tomorrow, and now it looks like Friday. That is consistent with what he said. That is consistent with what he said. It's just not the best possible case. But we're working really hard to make that happen. We are looking to have places where we can house individuals while they need to isolate because they don't need hospitalization, but they are positive in every region of the state so that we have that capacity closer to where people actually live and closer to the hospitals where they're going to be tested and so forth. And so we are working with the lieutenant governor's office and DCFS is in charge of this effort, working with the National Guard, state police, and all of our local and state partners. And we've identified various different regions? I know that I think right now we've identified the Lake Bistineau State Park where we have cabins and trailer spaces that will be used, but we've also identified Chicot State Park. And I'm not sure if we have another one identified at the present. But you're going to see at least two of these come online. And by the way right now, we don't have individuals outside of the New Orleans manuscript area who fit this category, but you're going to see us stand up these sites, these regional sites, around the state in the next couple of days, anticipating that we will have need for them. Yes, sir?AUDIENCE MEMBER: You mentioned you're working to expand hospital bed capacity. Can you talk more specifically about what exactly that looks like and how you're doing that. GOVERNOR JON BEL EDWARDS: Well, the first thing you do is you figure out what the additional capacity is in your currently operating hospitals, and you can do that by seeing if there are floors on those hospitals that are not being used, that can be used where you have rooms, where you can double bunk, and that sort of stuff. And that's the preference, because then you minimize your staffing surge requirements as well. And ultimately the staffing surge is probably going to be harder than the bed surge because we have space out there. We only have so many doctors and nurses and so forth. But we have folks at LDH working across the state of Louisiana to identify every possible healthcare worker that we can to put on this task. So that's where you go first. You then take advantage of opportunities that you may have. So, for example, we are asking the federal VA to allow us to surge into the three VA hospitals in Louisiana if? and we don't know? we don't know yet. Hopefully we're going to know soon? whether that's possible. And then you use space that is available across the state of Louisiana, whether it's at rural hospitals that are not at capacity, a recently closed hospital that is still in good condition and can be occupied with little or no renovations in order to make it acceptable. We're identifying those areas from around the state of Louisiana, and we are quickly moving towards getting the renovation work done. And it's going to be relatively light renovation because we need to turn these things around pretty quickly. So all of this is in process as we speak. Again, as we flatten the curve on the transmission of the virus, we have to ramp up our surge capacity to deliver healthcare so that we make sure that it's not overwhelmed by the demand at any given time. All right. One more question, or maybe not. AUDIENCE MEMBER: I have a question for Coach Orgeron if he doesn't mind. GOVERNOR JON BEL EDWARDS: I'm glad somebody has a question for somebody else. AUDIENCE MEMBER: Lots of people are afraid right now. Why is fear not the appropriate response? And what would you tell folks who are afraid?COACH ED ORGERON: Have faith. Have faith in the game plan. We're going to get through this. There's going to be some rough times. We can't give into it. Fear makes you give into it. Have faith. Grow strong. Grow as a team. Lean on each other. AUDIENCE MEMBER: Governor, I'll take that one more question. GOVERNOR JON BEL EDWARDS: Great, one more. AUDIENCE MEMBER: Obviously, it's clear that you have the authority. The federal authorities don't have to be involved to suspend foreclosure and evictions? You can do that?GOVERNOR JON BEL EDWARDS: No. That's a matter of state law?AUDIENCE MEMBER: That's ERNOR JON BEL EDWARDS: I am very confident that the state law, both the Constitution and statutory law granted me authority once I declared the public health emergency to take the actions that we have taken. And I want you to know there has been unprecedented cooperation. So the things we have done, for example, as it relates to legal deadlines, that was all given to me by the court system itself so that we could include it. We are working hand in hand with the leaders of the legislature, with the education community. And so the things that you see in the executive order and the proclamations are things that we've been asked to do, in addition to those things that we feel compelled to do in order the protect the public safety and, you know, the headlight of our citizenry, which, as the Attorney General mentioned, is always the Number?1 priority for any government and any governor. And not a single thing that I have done were things that I would just want to do. But these things, we believe, are necessary in order to be able to fight this enemy that we have, this invisible enemy, I think the Attorney General said. And we're going to be successful. We're going to come through this. It is going to be difficult. It's going to get worse before it gets better. And it's going to take longer than we might want it to. But the people of Louisiana are good people. They are generous, decent, hard working people, and we know how to be good neighbors to each other. And we know that everybody in this state is brother and sister to everybody else. And as the coach mentioned, have faith. We are very, very faithful people. And I always encourage folks, it's always good to say a prayer. Do that, and try to start with a prayer of Thanksgiving and then get to your prayers of petition. And then let's lean on our faith and let's rely on one another. We'll get through this. But thank y'all so much. We'll let y'all know when we're going to have our next press conference. ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download