COVID cases rise as lawmakers aim to cancel emergency order
Newly confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus continue to increase by double digits in Lincoln Parish, even as a Ruston state representative joins the Legislature’s move to curb Gov. John Bel Edwards’ orders aimed at slowing the virus’s spread.
As of noon Friday, the parish hit a cumulative 1,408 cases of COVID-19 since the count began in March, according to figures released by the Louisiana Department of Health.
The number represents a 35-case jump from Thursday. Friday’s increase was the largest of the week and accounted for half of the 70 new cases confirmed since Monday, the LDH numbers show.
COVID-19 has claimed the lives of 48 Lincoln Parish residents.
The LDH also updated its meager case reporting window for the state’s higher education institutions on Friday, adding a campus-by-campus breakdown of confirmed COVID-19 cases for the first time.
The data includes the first publicly available count for Grambling State University, listing 29 cases of the coronavirus since the start of the fall semester.
Of those cases, 15 are listed as students living on campus or attending classes on campus, seven are faculty or staff working on campus, and seven are faculty or staff working 100% virtually.
The LDH report is cumulative for the fall semester and uses numbers last updated on Thursday, despite the breakdown not being published until Friday.
Meanwhile, Louisiana Tech University is shown with 235 total cases — an increase of 16 compared to its last independent update on its own website, which ran through Sept. 23. Of that figure, 222 are students and 13 are faculty or staff.
The case count among Tech’s student population comes out to just shy of 2% of total enrollment. Just down Interstate 20, GSU’s 15 reported student cases represent roughly 0.3% of its student body.
Tech is expected to update its independent reporting for the third full week of fall quarter classes this weekend.
Statewide, Louisiana continues to have the highest number of coronavirus cases per capita in the nation.
Also on Friday, state Rep. Chris Turner, R-Ruston, joined 65 other House members voting in favor of a resolution that would suspend the governor’s emergency COVID-19 orders.
House Concurrent Resolution 9 was one of eight proposals that easily cleared the House on Friday that would restrict or suspend Edwards’ action.
The resolution, authored by House Speaker Clay Schexnayder, R-Gonzales, and co-authored by Turner and 47 other representatives, now goes to the Senate.
Turner said his intent is not to remove all of the governor’s authority, but the Legislature deserves “a seat at the table.”
One of the key issues in all of the legislation is how to give lawmakers the voice they say they lack in the rules contained in the orders aimed at combatting the virus.
Rep. Patrick Jefferson, D-Homer, who also represents part of Lincoln Parish, was absent from Friday’s vote.
The Schexnayder resolution would suspend Edwards’ existing orders from the day the legislation wins final approval until 30 days after the special session ends Oct. 27. Evidently, that would mean Louisiana would no longer have any Phase Three reopening restrictions at least through the presidential election.
A concurrent resolution can be used to suspend a law, express legislative intent, and request or direct a state agency to take a specific action.
Proponents of the action limiting the governor’s decisions say because the number of new COVID-19 cases has declined statewide, businesses should be allowed to open more fully, and football games should be allowed to have more than the current 25% stadium capacity of fans in the stands.
Ruston High School has chosen to deal with the capacity rule by starting its home season at Grambling State University’s Robinson Stadium where 25% capacity equals almost what full capacity would be at RHS’ Garrett Stadium.
— Reporter Caleb Daniel contributed to this story.
