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Gov. John Bel Edwards had one bit of good news for his press conference Tuesday: New modeling from the White House indicates that the widespread use of face coverings can bring COVID-19’s spread under control without going back to Phase One restrictions.
“It is my hope, and quite frankly my expectation, that we won’t go backwards,” Edwards said.
But the rest of the news about COVID-19 in Louisiana was anything but good, leading Edwards to announce he’ll extend the new restrictions he imposed July 13 by another two weeks to Aug. 7.
Those measures include the mask mandate, the closure of bars and the 50-person limit on crowd sizes.
“We still have a lot of COVID in Louisiana, more than we want,” Edwards said. “And it is widespread all across our state.”
Among the troubling numbers:
—The 1,527 COVID-positive people in hospitals as of Tuesday represent the largest total since May 3.
—The 36 deaths attributed to COVID in the 24 hours before noon Tuesday are the most since May 28.
—Across the state, the percentage of tests returning positive results is over the 10% target in federal public health guidance. The most recent positivity percentage was 15.4%, Edwards said.
—One-third of the positives reported recently are among people 29 and younger.
—The statistical indicator known as R is above 1 across the state. Experts say R represents the number of people who catch the disease from each infected patient. If it’s higher than 1, the virus spreads exponentially as infected people infect others.
—About 90% of the positives reported Tuesday were the result of community spread and not from congregant settings such as nursing homes.
Especially troubling for Dr. Alex Billioux of the Louisiana Department of Health are the hospitalization numbers.
“We’ve now clearly turned the corner in the wrong direction and are seeing a steady rise in hospitalizations statewide,” Billioux said at the press conference.
A Tuesday call with regional public health directors and hospital administrators revealed concern about the number of people turning up at their facilities.
“Everybody emphasized the same concerns,” Billioux said. “They’re seeing hospital capacities becoming more and more strained, not just because of COVID … but also people who delayed treatment because of COVID now coming in sicker and needing admission. …”
In Region 4, which centers on Lafayette and includes St. Martin Parish, officials are seeing growing numbers of people arriving at hospitals with COVID-like symptoms, high levels of positives in testing and a growing number of cases. Some hospitals are having trouble admitting patients, he said.
Tuesday’s statistics say about 74% of Region 4’s 1,687 hospital beds are in use. In Region 3, which includes St. Mary and Assumption, hospital bed usage is at about 67%.
Both Edwards and Billioux stressed that COVID is no longer concentrated in regional hot spots as it was in the spring but is increasing statewide.
Louisiana still has at least one hot spot in Baton Rouge, one of three U.S. cities singled out by the White House Coronavirus Task Force as “a hot spot of national concern.” Federal and state authorities have moved to increase the amount of testing there.
Meanwhile, all the concerns surrounding COVID and mitigation measures continue to weigh on the state.
NOLA.com reported that four Jefferson Parish business owners sued Edwards on Tuesday, charging that the July mandates have damaged their businesses. They cited Attorney General Jeff Landry’s recent opinion that Edwards exceeded his authority with the mask mandate, the bar closures and the crowd size limit.
The start of school is also approaching, fueling a debate over whether it is safe to bring children back to school and how that can be safely accomplished.
Billioux wouldn’t be pinned down on whether schools can be safely opened.
“By and large, kids are probably safer,” he said. “But kids are around teachers and they have to go home to be around caregivers. …
“Education is critical. We need to do this whether it’s in-person or virtual.”
Edwards said that whatever phase of White House coronavirus guidelines the state is in will apply to schools.

Staff Report
Qualifying for local elections this fall will begin Wednesday and continue through Friday at the St. Mary Parish Clerk of Court’s Office in Franklin.
Qualifying is being held for Morgan City mayor and City Council members as well as City Court judge and City Court marshal in Morgan City. Other positions to be filled are district judges, justice of the peace, constables and district attorney.
Candidates can visit the Clerk of Court’s Office on the second floor of the parish courthouse in Franklin from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Wednesday through Friday.
The primary election will be held Nov. 3, while the general election will be held Dec. 5.

As Louisiana students and parents await answers on returning to the classroom this fall, the issue of broadband availability is at the front of many of their minds.
Studies show that only 63% of rural Americans have access to home broadband internet, 12 percentage points lower than their suburban and urban counterparts. The Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) recently released its 2020 Distance Learning Survey for Louisiana, which reports only 66% of students in the state have home internet access.
A more granular look at the data shows that of the over 660,000 Louisiana students in the traditional parish school system, more than 285,000 are without home internet access.
These connections are crucial to student outcomes. When controlling for socioeconomic factors, there is a significant achievement gap between students who have access to the internet at home and those who do not.
A 2015 National Assessment of Educational Progress for Louisiana measured performance for students in reading and math.
In reading, fourth grade students lacking internet access scored 18 points lower than those with access, while those in eighth grade scored 15 points lower. In math, fourth graders without home broadband access scored 11 points lower, and eighth graders scored nine points lower. The maps at left and below present the percentage of students in each parish school system with home internet access, as well as access to a computer or tablet at home. The data illustrates in stark terms the digital divide many are experiencing in our state. The northern, more rural parishes of Louisiana report lower rates of home connectivity, and the trend continues with students’ access to a computer or tablet at home.
But this is not the only data showing students without a connection are more likely to struggle. A study from Michigan State University surveyed students in grades 8 to 11 in rural areas of Michigan and evaluated how broadband access impacts educational performance for students. The data found that even when controlling for socioeconomic factors, students with fast home-internet connections had average GPAs of (3.18), compared to those without a home connection (2.81) and students whose only access was through a smartphone (2.75). Furthermore, the study found that students who lack home internet access are 29 percent less likely to complete a university program or obtain a college degree.
Paul Nelson, superintendent of the Tensas Parish School District, said teachers were preparing paper packets for students while schools were closed this spring. “The majority of our kids don’t have machines or internet accessibility, so we will be preparing paper packets for review/practice work,” Nelson said.
LDOE backs up this assertion, reporting only 20%of students in Tensas Parish have a home internet connection, meaning only 84 students are online. Reliable connection to broadband internet is out of reach for countless families across Louisiana, and given the difficulties posed by COVID-19, the need to solve this problem is more urgent than ever.
So, how do we connect more students? If we want the necessary investment in broadband infrastructure to occur in rural areas, regulatory barriers restricting progress must come down. Fortunately, the Louisiana legislature recently passed a bill that will break down barriers to rural broadband access, and that legislation was signed by Gov. John Bel Edwards on Wednesday. Even though this proposal was signed into law, however, more barriers still stand in the way of connectivity.
Until these barriers are gone and investment flows in, thousands of rural Louisiana residents will continue waiting for relief. In the meantime, one thing remains abundantly clear. If we want to put Louisiana students on track to succeed both in and out of the classroom, we must expand broadband internet access in rural communities.
Joshua Levine is an intern at Pelican Institute for Public Policy.

Dr. Linda Nichols is the new dean of the B.I. Moody III College of Business Administration at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
Nichols comes to UL Lafayette from the University of Tulsa in Oklahoma. There, she served as dean of the Collins College of Business. She joined the Tulsa faculty in 2011 as associate dean, director of Graduate Business Programs and a professor of accounting.
She later became director of the School of Energy Economics, Policy and Commerce.
She joined Tulsa’s faculty after 21 years at Texas Tech University, where she was professor and director of accounting programs. During her tenure at the Collins College of Business, she revamped its MBA program and was an advocate for online education across Tulsa’s campus.
Nichols described herself as “very student focused. I always consider what is in the best interests of students when making decisions that will impact their experiences and preparation for successful careers in their chosen fields.”
She continued: “I am excited to join the Moody College of Business because its faculty and staff are motivated by the same goal – to provide today’s undergraduate and graduate students with the tools they will need for the jobs of tomorrow.”
Nichols said she plans to strengthen the college’s partnerships with South Louisiana’s business community. “The Moody College of Business is known for its research and scholarly contributions to the health of the regional economy. It’s an excellent foundation and reputation we plan to build upon.”
Nichols knows quite a bit about fostering relationships with business and industry, noted Dr. Jaimie Hebert, UL Lafayette’s provost and vice president for Academic Affairs. “She is recognized globally as an expert in the field of financial accounting and reporting for the oil and gas industry.”
Her association with the oil industry began in 1980 when she worked for an international accounting firm in Houston as part of its oil and gas industry audit division. She later joined Columbia Gas Development, an exploration and production company, where she held the position of supervisor of budgeting and economics.
“Over the past decade alone, Dr. Nichols has provided industry training and expertise in 20 countries on five continents,” Hebert said. “She has extensive experience in both the private sector and higher education, so she understands the relationships that can exist between these two spheres and the mutual benefits that can result from such partnerships.
“We are excited that she’s agreed to join our University family, and we anticipate that great things lie ahead for the Moody College of Business, and its students and faculty, under her leadership,” he concluded.
Nichols earned a Ph.D. in accounting from Louisiana State University. She is a certified public accountant.
She is author of a Bloomberg Portfolio in Oil and Gas Accounting, which covers all aspects of upstream accounting in the United States and globally, and she has published numerous scholarly articles. She also serves as associate editor of the Oil, Gas and Energy Quarterly, a peer-reviewed journal.
Nichols has earned national and international recognition. In 2007, she received the Texas Society of CPAs’ Outstanding Accounting Educator Award. In 1999, she was chosen as Outstanding Educator of the Year by the American Woman’s Society of CPAs.
In 2003, the U.S. Fulbright Commission and Austrian government chose her as the Johannes-Kepler Distinguished Chair in International Business. She also chaired the Financial Accounting and Reporting Committee of the AICPA, the world’s largest association for accounting professionals.
Nichols begins her new role as Moody College of Business dean on Aug. 15. She replaces Dr. Geralyn McClure Franklin, the college’s interim dean since July 2019.
Nichols’ appointment is awaiting approval by the University of Louisiana System Board of Supervisors.