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I know that many of us were disappointed that the governor continued the Stay at Home Order thru May 15 based on the data he received from the medical and scientific professionals.  While I am sure this was a difficult decision, I am encouraged that we have a leader in our state who takes all the facts into consideration and makes his decision on what is best for the people in our state. The following is information that he used to make his decision:

• 1/3 of regions in the state still show increase in percentages of cases and two show increase in hospitalizations.
• Over 10,000 became ill during the stay at home order.
• Scientists, epidemiologists and doctors all agree that data shows we don’t meet criteria to move to Phase 1
• Louisiana is sixth in the nation in cases per capita – none of the top 10 states are moving to Phase 1.

While everyone wants the economy to open, we want to make sure we do it without unnecessarily endangering our residents. We don’t want to open up only to see the cases spike and have to close again.  The state needs time to increase testing and begin contact tracing. Businesses have the opportunity to begin preparing now for Phase 1 openings. The more we do to follow the governor’s order and Department of Health guidance, the sooner we can open up our state while assuring the safety of the people we love.

I hope that as a community we continue to work with the Governor to make sure we are able to move to Phase 1.

Sincerely,
Debbie Schum
LaPlace, Louisiana