On Monday, April 27, Governor John Bel Edwards said, “The worse thing I can’t ignore, is the reality,” as he made the decision to extend his stay-at-home order until May 15. He will reconsider the order on May 11, on how the state will proceed.
Edwards said he wanted to open the economy but due to the numbers of the COVID cases in the state, he couldn’t do that. “We don’t meet the criteria (set by the White House).” He did thank Louisiana residents for helping to make positive trends to flatten the curve of this virus, but it hasn’t been enough to lift the stay-at-home order.
He went on to explain Louisiana has not met the criteria set by the White House to begin Phase One of reopening the economy. He said the data is based on the number of people seeking medical care for COVID-19, number of new hospitalization cases and number of new cases of the virus. Some regions (like Monroe and Baton Rouge) have seen data increase, and some have reached a plateau (Southwest Louisiana), and because of the data, Edwards said he couldn’t take the chance of reopening the state and then having to close it again when cases spiked.
Pointing out Louisiana’s first case of the virus occurred on March 9, and 49 days later, the state reported 27,068 cases on Monday. Louisiana is ranked number six in the country per capita in the number of cases the state is seeing.
“This disease is spreading at a rate that far exceeds our neighbors.” He said the state had four times more cases than Mississippi.
“If we move too quickly, it will not be good for public health and the economy.” The governor said bars, beauty salons, nail salons, etc. would remain closed. Only essential businesses would be open.
He encouraged everyone to wear masks in public. He encouraged businesses to make sure their customers are wearing masks. “I strongly appeal to the public to wear masks when out in public. I’m asking businesses to encourage customers to wear masks when inside.”
Governor Edwards said on Friday he would make three changes to his stay-at-home order.
1. Malls will remain closed to the public, but stores will be allowed to open and perform curbside services for its customers.
2. Customers could utilize outside seating at restaurants where it existed as long as they are practicing social distancing. This would be for “eating only,” and customers could not receive any tableside service from the restaurant.
3. All employees interacting with customers inside businesses must wear a mask.
He said no groups larger than 10 could meet. He encouraged faith leaders and business owners to begin making plans to reopen. In the next two weeks, the governor encouraged businesses to learn the occupancy of their buildings and learn how many people they will be able to bring inside when Phase One is initiated.
“We will get through this together,” he said. “We will only be successful if we follow the data.”
Coushatta Casino
The Kinder Courier reached out to Coushatta Chairman David Sickey concerning the Coushatta Casino, which is the largest employer in Allen Parish on Friday, April 24.
Sickey said, We do not have a definite reopen date for Coushatta Casino.” He said as soon as a plan in place, the casino would make an announcement through press releases, etc.
Kinder
Mayor Wayland LaFargue said the council is planning to meet Monday, May 4. Depending on what the governor announced in regards to his stay-at-home order, LaFargue said they would have to look at finances.
LaFargue said the mayors of Allen Parish are working together to get help through the stimulus plan to restart the economy. He said the parish is also based on the revenue received from traffic directly associated with the casino and indirectly. They are also speaking with their state and national leaders to look at solutions and to get funds earmarked to help communities battling the virus.
He commended the casino on closing its doors to stop the spread of the virus, He said it’s not their fault, but in order to look out for citizens, they will have to review finances.
Recently, Kinder has seen increases in insurance premiums, so he said they are shopping and looking at ways to save money in the future. Some projects may be put on hold and some may move forward. It will depend on finances available.
“We’re fighting for our citizens,” he said. “It’s what we were elected to do. We don’t want to lose services, revenues or jobs.”
Oberlin
Oberlin Mayor Joseph “Moochie” Manuel said they will meet May 11. This week on Thursday, April 30, two councilmen will meet to discuss finances and how to proceed forward as this virus continues to affect collections, work, etc.
That group also will look at what the community needs to do and what can wait. He said finances are being affected at this time, so the council will be faced with keeping the town within its budget limits.
He reminded residents they are still collecting occupational license fees, taxes and utility payments. He encouraged everyone to contact city hall to discuss payment or drop their payment off at city hall.
Reeves
The Reeves Council will meet Monday, May 18, at 6:30 p.m.
Oakdale
Oakdale Mayor Gene Paul said Oakdale City Council is planning to meet Thursday, May 7. He said they will most likely have a closed meeting for the month of May.
