Louisiana

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(14,624 posts) Mon Mar 2, 2020, 01:39 PM Mar 2020

Louisiana kicks off task force before coronavirus makes its way to state

https://www.wdsu.com/article/louisiana-kicks-off-task-force-before-coronavirus-makes-its-way-to-state/31190328

Gov. John Bel Edwards and state officials are doing their part to stay ahead of coronavirus if it makes its way to Louisiana. Edwards said Monday that he's formed a coronavirus task force compromised of federal and state officials. While there are no confirmed cases of coronavirus in the Bayou State, the governor's office said it "anticipates that we will in the future."

"That’s why Louisiana’s Department of Health and other agencies have been planning for several weeks on how the state will respond to prevent the spread of the virus and protect the health of the public,” Edwards said. “As a state, Louisiana has been planning for pandemics for 15 years, and we will use this experience to guide how we react and respond to the coronavirus, should it impact our state."

According to the governor's office, the state's Office of Public Health's laboratory can now test for the virus using guidelines from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Federal health officials said, as of Monday, there are 60 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the country, and of the cases two people have died. Edwards' coronavirus task force teams up the state health department, the Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, the Louisiana National Guard, the United States Coast Guard, Louisiana State Police and other agencies.

The task force will lead the state's planning for different scenarios relating to the coronavirus spread, officials said. Edwards said while the state prepares for various scenarios during the coronavirus outbreak, he is asking residents to continue taking "commonsense steps to protect themselves from respiratory illness" including washing hands, covering mouths when coughing and not going out in public when they're sick.