Governor: State preparing for COVID-19

No cases of illness related to the new coronavirus have been confirmed in Louisiana. Gov. John Bel Edwards told reporters in Baton Rouge on Monday. But “we believe it’s a matter of when, not if,” the governor said.
The best course is “not to be driven by panic and hysteria but by the facts,” Edwards said at the Baton Rouge Press Club. “If we do that, we’ll get past this sooner rather than later.”
Before the Press Club event, Edwards was part of a conference call with Vice President Mike Pence, who has been placed in charge of the federal response to the COVID-19 threat, and presided over a meeting of the Unified Command Group composed of Louisiana officials involved in the state response.
Edwards told the reporters that Louisiana has access to testing resources, a source of concern at the national level. And although no confirmed cases have been reported in Louisiana, 40 state residents who have traveled to areas where COVID-19 is known to have infected people have isolated themselves voluntarily and have been checking with health professionals as they wait out the 14-day period in which they would be expected to show signs of infection.
So far, about half of those people have emerged from the 14-day window without being sick.
More than 80,000 cases and 3,000 deaths have been confirmed worldwide. Two Americans have died among the 43 confirmed COVID-19 patients, not counting those who returned from overseas on State Department-chartered flights.
The CDC expects community spread of coronavirus in some parts of the United States, the Governor’s Office said Monday.
Edwards said Monday that Louisiana has had a pandemic response plan in place for 15 years.
Louisiana may find it difficult to protect against the economic impact the disease, which included a 1,200 surge in the Dow Monday after last week’s 3,500-point plunge.
As an example, Edwards said two large cranes ordered by the Port of New Orleans from China have been delayed “because the work isn’t progressing as it had before.”
Members of the COVID-19 Task Force include the Louisiana Department of Health and the Office of Public Health, the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, the Division of Administration, the Department of Education, the Louisiana National Guard, the Department of Children and Family Services, the Louisiana Department of Justice, the United States Coast Guard, 211, Louisiana State Police and other agencies as deemed appropriate.
The COVID-19 Task Force will lead Louisiana’s planning for different scenarios relating to the spread of coronavirus. It will offer guidance not only to the Governor and the Unified Command Group, but also to state agencies, local governments, businesses and organizations.
As an initial step, the COVID-19 Task Force is recommending that all state agencies review and update their Continuity of Operations Plans (COOP) that were developed statewide in 2012 under GOHSEP direction to take coronavirus into account.
For updates on the state’s response to the coronavirus situation, visit LDH.louisiana.gov/Coronavirus.