On Thursday, April 9, Gov. John Bel Edwards held a media briefing about Louisiana's response to COVID-19.
During his Thursday press conference, Edwards said there's "a really good chance" Louisiana schools will close for the rest of the school year. He said the answer will come relatively soon. Edwards' school closure order remains in place through the end of April.
The Louisiana Association of Schools Superintendents sent a letter to the governor on Wednesdayasking him to keep schools closed for the remainder of the school year. On Thursday, leaders of Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) sent a letter to the Governor in support of making an immediate decision regarding the extension of his order and closing public school facilities statewide for the remainder of the 2019-20 school year.
As of noon on April 9, the Louisiana Department of Health reported 18,283 confirmed cases of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the state. This is 1,253 more cases that were reported yesterday. There are now 702 people who have died of the disease.
Friday's press conference will be held at 1:00 pm. It will be live on katc.com and on KATC's Facebook page.
The Louisiana Department of Health updates state numbers every day at noon.
To see the latest statewide numbers, click here.