Governor hits back on emergency petition

Gov. John Bel Edwards on Thursday criticized a petition seeking to void the governor’s public emergency declaration as a way to block COVID-19 restrictions to unshackle the state economy.
“Silly is not the word,” Edwards said at his daily press conference Thursday.
Edwards on Thursday formally extended the statewide stay at home order until May 15. He announced that he would take that action earlier this week, citing regional hot spots with stubbornly high COVID-19 spread around the state.
Orders have been modified to allow nonemergency procedures at health care facilities, to allow outdoor restaurant seating without table service and to allow curbside service for mall stores that don’t have their own access from outdoors.
But Edwards has come under increasing pressure to ease economic restrictions further.
In St. Mary Parish alone, more than 4,000 people have filed initial claims for unemployment assistance since the week since the strictest economic measures were ordered. More than 438,000 people statewide have filed for benefits during the same period, according to the Louisiana Workforce Commission.
The Louisiana Oil and Gas Association has called for a more rapid reopening of the economy. Energy companies have been hammered by a plunge in oil prices to below $20 a barrel, partly because of reduced consumption because of international COVID-19 restrictions.
Stephen Waguespack, the president of the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry, makes a similar call in a column that appears on this issue’s Page 4.
The petition would use state law giving the Legislature power to strike down the public health emergency declaration on which the stay at home order and economic restrictions are based.
“That would be completely irresponsible and nonsensical,” Edwards said, “to be the only state in the nation without an emergency declaration in place for the public health emergency that is COVID-19 when we’re the sixth-highest state for cases per capita in the country.”
Eliminating the order would disqualify Louisiana for federal assistance under the Stafford Act, the governor said.
“Silly is not the word. It would be profoundly regrettable and unfortunate to a degree that I don’t think serious legislators would entertain the idea.”
Also Thursday, Edwards, who met with President Donald Trump on Wednesday in Washington, said he was surprised at the attention federal public health officials had been watching the progress of the anti-COVID-19 fight in Louisiana.
Edwards said he based his decision to extend the stay at home order to May 15 on Trump administration guidance. The governor pointed to continuing problem areas, including Ouachita Parish, where the number of new cases was up 22% last week; East Baton Rouge, 14%; Caddo, 11%; and St. Tammany, 9.8%.
“You can see this is widespread across the state,” Edwards said.
Locally, 14 new positive tests for COVID-19 were reported at noon Thursday for St. Mary, St. Martin and Assumption parishes, according to the Louisiana Office of Public Health.
Another COVID-19-related death was reported in St. Martin between noon Wednesday and noon Thursday, bringing the three-parish death toll to 43.
—In St. Mary, another six COVID-19 positives brought the total to 191 after 1,064 tests. The death toll remained at 20.
—In St. Martin, four more positives raised the total to 232 after 1,788 tests. The death reported Thursday brings the parish total to 17.
—In Assumption, four more positives brought the total to 182 after 739 tests. The death toll remains at six.
Statewide:
—341 new positives bring the total to 28,001.
—60 deaths were reported Thursday, raising the state total to 1,862.
—Hospitalizations fell by 28 to 1,601.
—The number of patients on ventilators fell 13 to 231.