Governor John Bel Edwards met with Louisiana’s first Unified Command Group about the state’s response to the coronavirus today.
At the meeting, he announced the creation of a Coronavirus Task Force and that the Louisiana Office of Public Health’s State Laboratory is now able to test for the virus in the state, using the testing guidelines provided by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
There are no confirmed cases of the virus in Louisiana. Currently, there are more than 60 cases confirmed elsewhere in the country and two people in America have died.
“While we currently do not have any confirmed cases of coronavirus in Louisiana, we do anticipate that we will in the future," Governor Edwards said. “That’s why Louisiana’s Department of Health and other agencies have been planning for several weeks on how the state will respond to prevent the spread of the virus and protect the health of the public.”
The governor adds “As a state, Louisiana has been planning for pandemics for 15 years, and we will use this experience to guide how we react and respond to the coronavirus, should it impact our state. For now, people should take commonsense steps to protect themselves from respiratory illness, including washing their hands, covering their mouths when they cough and avoiding going out in public when they are sick.”
Some members of the newly-formed Task Force include the Louisiana Department of Health and the Office of Public Health, the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, among other state authority agencies.
The governor also addressed the coronavirus outbreak as part of his remarks at the Baton Rouge Press Club today. His remarks can be found here.
For updates on the state’s response to the coronavirus situation, click here.
