The gist: Once again, Gov. John Bel Edwards made an impassioned plea to the people of Louisiana, asking them to stay home and help #flattenthecurve. The current trajectory for the state hasn’t bent to promising numbers yet, with 510 more cases and 18 new deaths since yesterday. That’s a 28% increase in case numbers.
Strike Teams: Edwards personally spoke with President Trump during a conference call with the nation’s governors this morning. In the call, the president approved sending two field hospitals, each with 250 units (beds and IV polls), a 60-staffer strike team and a team from the CDC straight to Louisiana.
Trump also asked Edwards if Louisiana needs surge assistance from local VA hospitals. Though no decision has been made on that front, Edwards said he’s glad the state is receiving attention at a federal level.
“As of today, we are currently tied with New Jersey for No. 2 [in] cases per capita,” Edwards said. “If we don’t flatten the curve and do it soon, we could be out of ventilators in the New Orleans area by April 2, and we could be potentially out of bed space by April 17.”
Tactics: Edwards implored the state yet again to heed the warnings they’re receiving, pointing to the death of a 17-year-old in New Orleans as one of the latest fatalities. Edwards reiterated once again that you may not see this virus, but it sure as hell can see you.
“If you find this briefing unsettling, understand we can avoid it,” Edwards said. “It’s entirely in our power to avoid it.”