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Following months of improvement in COVID-19 hospitalizations and with nearly three million vaccine doses administered, Gov. John Bel Edwards on Tuesday signed an updated public health emergency order that removes all remaining business capacity restrictions and the vast majority of masking requirements.
In an effort to ensure the most accurate reporting of deaths that are attributable to the recent storms, the Louisiana Department of Health will only report a death after it has been confirmed as storm-related by the parish coroner.
Gov. John Bel Edwards has issued a State of Emergency Declaration due to the ongoing severe weather impacting Southwest Louisiana. Numerous Flash Flood Warnings and Tornado Warnings have already been issued by the National Weather Service (NWS). Additional rains are expected across the state for the next several days.
The Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness is seeking information from anyone who received damage due to the winter weather event this week. The self-reporting survey, which can be found at damage.la.gov, will help local and state emergency managers collect data to move forward with the recovery process.
A 68-year-old man and a 44-year-old woman in Avoyelles Parish died of carbon monoxide poisoning after a generator was placed in the camper in which they were staying.
The Louisiana Department of Health on Wednesday has confirmed two additional deaths tied to the February 2021 winter storm, bringing the statewide death toll to 3.
The Louisiana Department of Health is confirming the storm-related death of a 50-year-old Lafayette Parish who died after slipping on ice and hitting his head on the ground. The coroner has confirmed this death as storm related. It is the first death related to the February 2021 Winter Storm. Louisiana is experiencing extreme winter weather that may cause widespread power outages. Because of these outages, many people will turn to individual, gas-powered generators to power their homes.
Should one or more of Louisiana's parishes/regions become overwhelmed with the number of human remains that require temporary refrigerated storage, Louisiana Department of Health (LDH), Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (GOHSEP) and other state agencies may have to establish a temporary storage site(s). Contractor will be required to provide personnel and equipment to retrieve /return bodies from hospitals, coroners' offices or other sites that are designated by LDH.
Former State Health Officer Jimmy Guidry, M.D., retired from LDH on December 31, 2020. As newly-appointed State Health Officer, effective January 1, 2020, I hereby affirm that all COVID-related Emergency Orders issued by former State Health Officer Jimmy Guidry, M.D. that were still in effect on December 31, 2020 remain in effect, subject to any expiration dates or terms set forth therein.
Today, Gov. John Bel Edwards issued a state of emergency in advance of Hurricane Zeta, which could impact Louisiana later in the week, though the final track is still uncertain. According to the National Weather Service, Zeta strengthened into a hurricane today and is expected to impact the northern Gulf Coast by Wednesday. Strong winds, coastal flooding, heavy rain and tornadoes are all possible.
To aid in Hurricane Delta recovery, the southwestern Louisiana Office of Public Health has added two more COVID-19 mobile test sites to its schedule for next week. Testing will be available from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday, October 19 through Friday, October 23.
Louisiana Department of Health on Sunday verifies two deaths tied to Hurricane Delta.