Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards' office says the governor will travel to Washington, D.C. Wednesday to meet with President Donald Trump to discuss the state's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Edwards' office says the Louisiana governor was one of a handful of governors invited to participate.
The governor's office says Louisiana currently has the fifth-highest per capita rate of COVID-19 cases in the country.
“I look forward to having a substantive conversation with President Trump about Louisiana’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak, our plans to re-open additional businesses next month, and our ongoing needs as we surge our testing capacity to 200,000 tests per month beginning in May. I am appreciative of the President’s attention to Louisiana and his support for our people during this difficult time for our state. Brighter days are ahead for Louisiana and by working together with our federal partners, I know we will get through this,” said Edwards.
“I will also thank the President and Vice President for the many ways the federal government has stepped up to help Louisiana as we have navigated the past few months, from millions of pieces of PPE, hundreds of ventilators, support for more than 1,000 members of the National Guard, field hospitals and Public Health Service teams, early support of mobile testing sites and access to federal health officials and other experts as we have made many critical, life-saving decisions for Louisianans.”
