In a meeting with President Trump today, Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards says the state target of 200,000 coronavirus tests per month will likely be hit in May.
Once that level is achieved, Edwards says he will allow the state begin reopening the economy.
WWL-TV reports Edwards made the announcement during the meeting and also took a moment to thank President Donald Trump.
Edwards credited Trump for the help provided by the federal government in dealing with the outbreak, lauding the president for the quick setup of excess beds and for medical personnel, in addition to the testing.
“We’ve obviously turned the corner. We’re in a much, much better place than we thought was possible five or six weeks ago.”
Governor Edwards extended the state’s mandatory Stay at Home order earlier in the week while also relaxing some parts of the order.
“We had a lot of lessons to learn because there was no blueprint for this,” he said. “There’s no blueprint for a governor on how do you respond to a pandemic.”
Edwards says more testing will be mean the quicker the state can reopen.
