PINEVILLE, Louisiana, April 1 -- Cleco, a regulated electricity utility company, issued the following news release: Cleco is asking customers and the general public to practice social distancing with its field crews. "While some Cleco employees are working remotely from home due to the coronavirus, other employees critical to operations continue to work as usual in order to provide Cleco customers with safe, reliable power," said James Lass, director of distribution operations and emergency ma  more

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana, April 1 -- Entergy issued the following news release: Entergy New Orleans has received the 2020 ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year Award. The company was recognized by the Department of Energy for its outstanding efforts and partnership with residential customers through its Home Performance with the ENERGY STAR Program, part of the Energy Smart program administered by Entergy New Orleans on behalf of the New Orleans City Council. This marks the third time Entergy New Orle  more

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana, March 31 -- Entergy issued the following news release: With so many customers telecommuting and people depending on grocery stores, hospitals and other vital services, it is more important than ever for Entergy to keep the power and gas flowing to the people who are depending on us to provide reliable, affordable energy. To do this safely, Entergy urges the public to stay away from utility employees and contractors working in the field. Social distancing of six feet is   more

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana, March 31 -- Entergy issued the following news release: * * * - Here's How to Get Help * * * With schools closed and many workers temporarily unemployed or telecommuting due to the coronavirus pandemic, many families have a full house during times the home would normally be empty. The result is often an increased demand for energy to fuel daily lives, and that can quickly lead to a higher-than-normal energy bill. Family members may ask how to keep bills from rising wh  more

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana, April 1 -- Gov. John Bel Edwards, D-Louisiana, issued the following news: Gov. John Bel Edwards signed a proclamation that eases medical licensure laws to make it easier for health care professionals out of state to come to Louisiana to practice during the COVID-19 outbreak and directs funerals to occur as expeditiously as possible, among other things. "I am so incredibly grateful for our medical professionals here in Louisiana and those from other states who have volun  more

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana, April 3 -- Gov. John Bel Edwards, D-Louisiana, issued the following news on April 2: Gov. John Bel Edwards announced a new text alert system that will provide timely COVID-19 updates and other critical guidance directly from the governor's office to Louisiana residents. Louisianans can opt-in to the new system today by texting 'LACOVID' to 67283. "I encourage all Louisianans to sign-up for the new text alert system and stay up to date with the latest COVID-19 informati  more

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana, March 30 -- Gov. John Bel Edwards, D-Louisiana, issued the following statement: With deep sadness, Gov. John Bel Edwards announced the passing of 33-year old April Dunn who succumbed to complications from COVID-19. April was a dedicated staff member who served in the Governor's Office of Disability Affairs and a tireless advocate for people with disabilities. Gov. Edwards issued the following statement: "On behalf of Donna and my entire administration, it is with heav  more

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana, April 3 -- Gov. John Bel Edwards, D-Louisiana, issued the following news: Gov. John Bel Edwards formally extended his Stay at Home order until April 30, as Louisiana works to slow the spread of COVID-19, which extends the length of time that schools and some businesses are closed and continues limits on the size of gatherings. On Thursday, April 2, the number of reported cases reached 9,150 and the number of deaths rose to 310. The updated proclamation unites several pr  more

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana, April 3 -- Gov. John Bel Edwards, D-Louisiana, issued the following news on April 2: The Louisiana Department of Health (LDH) on Thursday reports 2,726 additional COVID-19 cases, bringing the state's total to 9,150 cases. More than 95% of these positive results are from tests conducted in commercial labs. "While extremely upsetting, this increase in COVID-19 cases appears to be less a sign of new exponential growth and more a sign of a logjam from commercial labs," sai  more

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana, April 4 -- Gov. John Bel Edwards, D-Louisiana, issued the following news: Louisiana's modeling data show the state on course to require 2,500 new hospitalizations a day in the New Orleans area by mid-May, if the public does not adhere to COVID-19 mitigation measures like Gov. Edwards' Stay at Home order. Governor Edwards and the Louisiana Department of Health on Friday shared a product of the state's COVID-19 modeling that takes into account the Governor's aggressive mi  more

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana, April 2 -- Gov. John Bel Edwards, D-Louisiana, issued the following news: Gov. John Bel Edwards announced a new Louisiana Loan Portfolio Guaranty Program, which will offer loans of up to $100,000 to Louisiana small businesses of fewer than 100 employees that are impacted by the COVID-19 crisis. To help Main Street and rural businesses sustain operations, the loans will require no payments for 180 days and carry below-market interest rates of no more than 3.5 percent. T  more

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana, March 31 -- Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry issued the following news release: * * * - Hydroxychloroquine has been identified as a possible treatment for COVID-19 Coronavirus and the large donation will go toward clinical trials and patient treatment in Louisiana * * * Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry, working with the assistance of State Senate Health and Welfare Chairman Fred Mills, is announcing a major donation by Amneal Pharmaceuticals to help respon  more

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana, March 31 -- Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry issued the following statement: Amid reports that the June Medical Services (d/b/a Hope Medical Group) abortion clinic in Shreveport is ignoring the Louisiana Department of Health's Notice #2020-COVID19-ALL-007 suspending the performance of all elective medical procedures and surgeries in Louisiana, Attorney General Jeff Landry issued the following statement: "COVID-19 is a public health emergency in Louisiana, with tho  more

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana, April 4 -- The Louisiana State University Ag Center issued the following news release: The LSU AgCenter and Louisiana Farm Bureau are conducting a survey to determine the economic damage to Louisiana crawfish producers caused by the coronavirus. "It is extremely important that we get timely participation of this survey to strengthen the efforts in petitioning the U.S. Department of Agriculture for assistance for the industry," said Kurt Guidry, LSU AgCenter economist an  more

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana, April 1 -- Louisiana State University issued the following news release: * * * - Goal: New COVID-19 treatments within days or weeks. * * * The LSU DeepDrug team, a current semifinalist for the IBM Watson AI X-PRIZE, is using artificial intelligence, or AI, to discover new drugs. Although their work so far has focused mainly on antibiotics and antimicrobials, they are now working as quickly as they can to find new antivirals effective against coronavirus. The team is i  more

RUSTON, Louisiana, April 3 -- Louisiana Tech University issued the following news: The Parkinson's Resource Center (PRC) at Louisiana Tech is encouraging its users to continue exercising at home during the current climate of complications from COVID-19. The PRC will continue both its Rock Steady Boxing (RSB) and dance classes in person once the Lambright Sports & Wellness Center reopens. And in the fall, the Center hopes to introduce programs to help with both nutrition guidance and diminished  more

HAMMOND, Louisiana, April 4 -- Southeastern Louisiana University issued the following news release: With the ongoing uncertainty regarding the coronavirus pandemic and related timing of return to more normal operations, Southeastern Louisiana University is moving forward proactively to ensure students have the best possible opportunities to continue pursuit of their educational goals, university officials announced. "Because it is impossible at this time to guarantee the ability to welcome eve  more

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana, March 31 -- Gov. John Bel Edwards, D-Louisiana, issued the following news: Gov. Edwards issued the following statement about President Trump's commitment of 150 ventilators to Louisiana as it fights COVID-19 and works to surge its medical capacity so it can care for residents who are sick. Louisiana estimates the New Orleans area will run out of ventilator capacity on April 5, though this number changes as the state receives ventilators. Prior to this announcement, Loui  more

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana, March 31 -- Tulane University issued the following news release: Drug-resistant bacterial infections are on the rise, while the development of new antibiotics to fight these infections has slowed in recent decades. Mathematical models predict more than 10 million people will die annually from drug-resistant bacterial infections by 2050 if the current rates of increase continue. Now researchers at Tulane University have developed a novel way to identify a new class of ant  more

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana, March 31 -- Tulane University issued the following news release: Tulane's School of Professional Advancement's Digital Design program is offering a free, weekly program called the Design Lagniappe Series, beginning April 1. Tulane University's School of Professional Advancement's award-winning digital design program will offer a free, weekly online event in design education called the Design Lagniappe Series, beginning April 1. Participants will learn design tips and t  more

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana, April 1 -- Tulane University issued the following news release: A laboratory based at Tulane Medical Center and in partnership with UMC-LCMC is conducting a new test for COVID-19 that can yield results within four hours. The test was made possible through the joint efforts of the Tulane University School of Medicine, the LSU School of Medicine, Tulane Medical Center, LCMC Health and Roche Diagnostics. Researchers at the Tulane Medical Center Laboratory ran its first set  more

LAFAYETTE, Louisiana, April 2 [TNSmedicalresearch] -- The University of Louisiana's Lafayette Campus issued the following news story: University of Louisiana at Lafayette researchers are helping bolster the state's health care system as it grapples with an ever-growing number of coronavirus cases. Software researchers with UL Lafayette's Informatics Research Institute developed the COVID-19 Volunteer Management System. The system enables college students majoring in health care and non-health  more