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The special COVID-19 measures Gov. John Bel Edwards imposed July 11 — the mask mandate, the bar closures and the 50-person crowd limit — will expire Friday. So in one of his regular press conferences, either Tuesday or Thursday, we’ll hear whether those measures will continue or Louisiana will move from Phase Two precautions to less restrictive Phase Three measures.
Don’t be disappointed if Louisiana doesn’t move into Phase Three. We’ve been warned.
At a press conference Thursday, Edwards cautioned Louisiana people not to expect big changes.
It’s true that the resurgence of COVID-19 that followed the June 4 move into Phase Two, and persuaded Edwards to make masks mandatory and close the bars, shows signs of tailing off. But that’s not all that has happened.
The top medical officials at the two biggest Lafayette hospitals, Our Lady of Lourdes and Lafayette General, appeared with Edwards last week to make a plea for the use of masks to slow the spread of COVID-19. Their hospitals are nearly full, they said, and they’re starting to see bad outcomes resulting from delays in treatment for non-COVID conditions such as cancer.
And, the officials said, the medical staffs are nearly worn out after five months of pandemic.
As of Monday, Louisiana Department of Health Region 4, which includes Lafayette and St. Martin, reported that 149 of 181 intensive care unit beds were in use. As for total hospital beds, 1,241 of 1,703 were in use.
There’s less pressure on hospitals in Region 3, which includes St. Mary and Assumption. There, 60 of 96 ICU beds and 418 of 720 total hospital beds are in use.
Then, on Thursday, we got the news that Louisiana has the highest rate of COVID infection per 100,000 people in the country.
Why the second spike? Because the increase began to appear in mid-June, or roughly one COVID incubation period after the move to Phase Two, some say we reopened too early. Others say the Memorial Day holiday marked the beginning of summertime activities, which too often didn’t include masks or social distancing. Maybe we were overconfident, or just tired of anti-COVID measures.
Whatever the reason, here’s what the resurgence looked like in St. Mary, St. Martin and Assumption:
—On June 15, 359 COVID-19 cases had been reported in St. Mary in the previous three months. Another 351 had been reported for St. Martin, and 274 in Assumption.
As of July 31, six weeks later, the number of cases in St. Mary had nearly quadrupled to 1,356, had more than quadrupled in St. Martin to 1,461 and nearly doubled in Assumption to 531.
—On June 15, the three parishes together had reported 74 COVID-related deaths. On July 31, the number of deaths was up by half to 111.
Statewide, the number of cases rose from about 47,000 to about 114,000 June 15-July 31. The number of deaths rose more slowly, increasing by 905. But hospitalizations exploded, rising from 568 to 1,524.
That’s the picture as the administration ponders the proper level of COVID precautions, and thousands of St. Mary children get ready to go back to school Monday.

Violations?
On Monday we came across a media report that said nearly 700 Louisiana businesses, and even some public-sector facilities, had been cited by the State Fire Marshal’s Office for failing to live up to Open Safely guidelines. The story included the complete list.
We counted 30 St. Mary businesses and other entities on the list and prepared to report on them. Some had as many as six reported violations after a single July inspection.
So we asked the always helpful folks at the State Fire Marshal’s Office for the list.
It came in spreadsheet form with a caution: The records don’t actually show citations. They show inspections performed and violations found, and each involved some advice about how to comply with the COVID guidance. Still, violations are violations, and we started going down the list of St. Mary entities to see what they had to say.
The first two people we contacted, both of whom are in charge of facilities with reported violations, came back with the same reply, which could be paraphrased as “huh?”
Both said they didn’t know anything about any violations. They didn’t deny them or make excuses. They were asking us for information about what was going on.
“I’m really interested to know what the violation actually was,” one said in an email.
The other person we called contacted the State Fire Marshal’s Office directly and learned that some of the violation reports were in error. Compliance reports were checked as “No” when they should have been checked as “N/A,” or not applicable, he said. Some of the violations were connected to rules for indoor dining at restaurants that had never resumed indoor dining.
“We are still on the hunt to find out why we were not notified, since it was going into a data bank that was public,” he said in an email.
Bill Decker is managing editor of The Daily Review.

September 7, 1936 — July 29, 2020
Istvan Steve Herman, age 83, a native of Lentikopolna, Hungary, and a resident of Berwick, Louisiana. He was called to his heavenly home on July 29, 2020, surrounded by his loving family. Istvan was born the son of Sandor and Anna Herman on September 7, 1936. He was owner/operator of Steve’s Auto Service from 1976-2017.
He will be sadly missed and lovingly remembered by his wife of 61 years, Dolores Crappell Herman; his daughter, Stephanie Hayles and husband Tim; his son, Brient Herman and wife Amber; his grandchildren, Brandi and Brandon Hardy, Brian Barrilleaux, Britany Dinger, Blake Dinger, Daniel and Laura Dobbs, Nicki and Janet Hayles, and Adam and Lorna Hayles; his great-grandchildren, Elyse, Ansley, Kaden, Haleighana, Zaylee, Avery and Jameson, along with two sisters, Annush and Elizabeth, both of Hungary; as well as nieces and nephews of Hungary.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Sandor and Anna Herman, his daughter Dana Herman, and his siblings Sandor and Magdolna.
Graveside services are set for Saturday, August 8, 2020, at 11 at the Berwick Mausoleum.
Due to COVID, social distancing appreciated.

State and local COVID-19 numbers took big jumps Tuesday as the Louisiana Office of Public Health reported the entry of more than 1,700 backlogged test results, some from as far back as May, into the database.

In St. Mary, 55 newly reported cases raised the parish's total since the pandemic began to 1,504.

St. Mary has 61 new COVID cases for a total of 1,580.

In Assumption, two cases raised the parish total to 557.

The death toll remained the same Tuesday: 49 in St. Mary, 42 in St. Martin and 20 in Assumption.

Statewide:

--3,615 new cases raised the pandemic total to 124,461.

--27 new deaths raised the toll to 3,937.

--Nine fewer people were hospitalized for COVID treatment raised the total to 1,487.

--10 more people were on ventilators for a total of 240.

Former assistant coach and businessman Trey Boucvalt is the donor behind the largest gift in the Nicholls State University history for The Boucvalt Family Athletic Complex.
Announced June 2019, the $2.52 million donation will help fund the expansion of Barker Hall. The renovations will build a football operations center and expand the current site into the south end zone of John L. Guidry Stadium. The total project, which will benefit all 17 athletics programs, costs $6.5 million.
“On behalf of myself, the department and the university, we cannot thank Trey enough for his generosity,” Jonathan Terrell, director of athletics. said in a news release. “This donation to Nicholls Athletics and our football program will be appreciated and admired for years to come. Present and future student-athletes will experience top-level facilities, fit for them to perform at the championship level they have in previous seasons. We will continuously strive to make Trey, his family, and all of Nicholls nation proud to be a Colonel.”
Boucvalt was born and raised in south Louisiana. He has always had strong ties to the Bayou Region and Nicholls State University. Boucvalt was an assistant football coach at Nicholls from 2001 to 2005. He is married to the former Brandi Fryoux for 23 years. They have two children, Lex, 16, and Ori, 15.
Boucvalt’s commitment to building the complex came after Coach Tim Rebowe built a successful foundation for the program. His goal for the facility is to impact the current student-athletes, future recruits and change the way fans watch games.
He is the founder and CEO of several companies that include environmental emergency response and management services, real estate investments and oilfield labor consulting.
“I am so fortunate to call Trey Boucvalt a friend, and am beyond thankful for his leadership, generosity and support,” said Matt Roan, former athletic director. “Trey and his family are absolute game changers. The momentum of the Nicholls football program, athletics department and university is great, and I hope this special gift will be the first of many to help continue fulfilling the limitless potential of such a special place. This is an all-time great project for Colonel Athletics and Nicholls State University, and one in which I’m very proud to have played a part.”
The football program, which shares space with baseball and athletics administration, will move into the football operations center. The Boucvalt Family Athletic Complex will also include a new locker room, players’ lounge, team meeting room with stadium-style seating, training room, equipment room, coaches’ and staff offices, position and group meeting rooms, catering kitchen and showcase lobby.
The team room will also function as a game day club seating area, which will produce revenue for the benefit of all 17 programs. This will also allow the current footprint to be repurposed and revitalized for several other programs and functions.
Construction for the facility is anticipated to be complete by the 2021 football season.
The architect group for the project is Weimer Gros Flores, based in Thibodaux.