The day of the vote itself, the mandate lost official support from a group of physicians affiliated with both of Lafayette’s hospital systems.
COVID-19
Link: As expected, Lafayette mask mandate fails
A second effort at passing a local mask mandate failed on a 3-2 vote during a Tuesday emergency meeting of the Lafayette City Council. Losing co-sponsor Nanette Cook ahead of the meeting, the bill was dead on arrival and would have needed four “yes” votes to succeed and overcome a likely veto from Mayor-President Josh Guillory.
More than 3,000 calls flooded the council office, with two-thirds recording opposition. Misinformation about masking and the ordinance itself circulated wildly in the weeks since the effort was announced, though a draft of the ordinance didn’t materialize publicly until Monday.
Councilman Glenn Lazard pressed on despite the foregone failure, emphasizing that the mandate was necessary to force the administration’s hand into enforcement. Late last year, Guillory stood down local efforts to support the state’s mask mandate, and the state’s enforcement is itself virtually nonexistent.
COLUMN: Passing a local mask mandate will help Lafayette’s businesses
Lost in the rancor is consideration of the positive impact that a mask mandate will have on Lafayette’s businesses.
6 min read
UPDATE: LCG passes $7 million rent assistance plan
December’s booster shot of federal stimulus will send $7 million in rent and utility assistance to Lafayette Parish, a figure that dwarfs previous local allocations but that advocates say still falls short of projected need. LCG is working through how to get the money out quickly.
5 min read
Antibody infusions are stemming Covid hospitalizations in Lafayette
Doctors at Lourdes and Ochsner Lafayette General believe the infusion has prevented hundreds of hospital admissions and dozens of deaths so far.
6 min read
Conversation: Does Lafayette need a mask mandate?
The science on masks is sound — they work. But a mask mandate is a different tool. Do you think Lafayette ought to pass a local ordinance enforcing a local mandate?
1 min read
Renovation and reinvention: What it’s like to open a restaurant in mid-pandemic Lafayette
Custom build outs for visionary concepts like Grocery Tavern & Delicatessen, Tchoup’s MidCity Smokehouse and Vestal take time. In a pandemic, they take even longer.
10 min read
Lafayette City Council members make second push for local mask mandate
Still failing to see enforcement of the governor’s mask mandate, City Council members are taking a second shot at passing a local one in an emergency meeting. The same council members previously backed off an effort to push forward on an emergency mask ordinance in July after Mayor-President Josh Guillory assured them the state order would be sufficiently enforced.
9 min read
Lafayette mayor quarantines after direct exposure to KLFY anchor he says should have been in quarantine himself
The mayor-president is in quarantine after a direct exposure to KLFY anchor Dalfred Jones, who tested positive for the coronavirus Friday, the day he emceed the swearing in of Lafayette City Marshal Reggie Thomas at the Heymann Center.
6 min read
Hope and frustration mix as Acadiana lines up for vaccinations
Customers flocked to pharmacies, some hopeful to see the end of the pandemic in sight, others frustrated and confused by another set of delays.
3 min read
COLUMN: 2021 could be a make-or-break year for Lafayette’s economy
The elephant in the room is how much longer this damn pandemic will last and who will be left standing when it finally ends. But that’s not the only aspect of our local economy with an uncertain fate.
10 min read
Link: Louisiana pharmacies overwhelmed as COVID-19 vaccine eligibility expands
The state started distributing the vaccines to commercial pharmacies for the first time this week — a process several pharmacists described on Monday as chaotic and overwhelming.
In all, only a fraction of the state’s pharmacies will receive any vaccine supply this week at all.
- Vaccines need to be used within six hours of opening a vial
- There are 485,000 people over 70 and 10,500 doses available this week
- 107 pharmacies now carry the vaccine out thousands in the state