Phase III stalled

Gov. John Bel Edwards recently made the decision to keep Louisiana in Phase II of the CORVID-19 “return to normal” protocols.
That status is expected to last 28 days unless conditions change Edwards said.
“Nobody is immune,” he said. “Everyone who is infected is at risk for a poor outcome.”
St. Mary Parish President David Hanagriff was asked about the state decision.
“My stance has always been, I want to get back to normal as quick as we possibly can in a responsible way,” Hanagriff said. “I agree with being safe and being practical. However, my only disagreement is: I don’t know if the numbers are accurate still.”
Hanagriff said he doesn’t “believe we have as big a problem as is being let on. I just wish we would get correct numbers. We’ve got a lot more testing done, but the results aren’t coming in like they should.
“I just don’t trust the numbers, and I think we need to move to Phase III as quickly as we can in a safe manner.”
Franklin Mayor Eugene Foulcard said he hoped the state could have moved on the Phase II “but the data and all of the trends are showing that we’re going in the opposite direction. I’m just hoping, praying that a vaccine could be found so that we could get back to normal.”
Foulcard added, “Until then, we have to keep going on, wearing masks, and avoiding large gatherings, staying home when we can.
“Because it’s still so prevalent and people are still out there interacting, it’s still getting around. We have to do our precaution and do what’s necessary, proper hand sanitizing, avoiding large crowds when possible and if you have to go (shopping) put a mask on and protect others.”
Economically, the city is “so far, we’ve been maintaining. Our sales taxes haven’t taken a massive dip, but we’re monitoring it. A lot of that is part of the stimulus dollars circulating during April and May. We’re still moving on some of that uptick.
“I’m just afraid to see what June and July reports are going to look like. I’m just remaining hopeful that we kinda maintain until we can turn the corner. I know we’re going to take a hit in video poker revenue from the last half of March to April and May, but I’m hoping it will stabilize a little bit.”