LAFAYETTE, La. — On Tuesday, April 21, Lafayette Consolidated Government held a press briefing on COVID-19 in the parish.
Lafayette Mayor-President Josh Guillory said that he had a conference call with several major big box retailers about the Safe Shop Policy and guidance on best practices that smaller retailers are following.
Guillory said the call included representatives from Academy, Albertson's, Home Depot, Stine's and Walmart.
Guillory said the retailers agreed to voluntarily follow guidance from the Safe Shop Policy and see the value in implementing the best practices.
He said residents should expect to see an increase in the use of masks, one-way aisles, sanitized shopping containers and more in local big box stores.
Guillory also gave a preview of Tuesday's city and parish council meetings where he said that his administration will ask the councils to strengthen the city and parish budgets in the coming months.
LCG Chief Financial Officer Lorrie Toups also spoke on how the administration will work to refinance city-parish bonds to help free up extra funds.
Toups said that with council approval, LCG will go through the state bond commission about refinancing city and parish bonds.
The city and parish councils will meet Tuesday without an audience present in an effort to maintain social distancing under Gov. John Bel Edward's Stay At Home Order.
The parish council meeting will be held at 5 p.m., while the city council meeting will be held at 6 p.m.
They can be viewed on AOC Community Media, LUS Fiber Channel 4 and COX Channel 16.
Lafayette city and parish citizens can participate with their public comments for the meetings by calling 337-291-8428 and leaving their name, number and agenda item.
Once the council presents the agenda item, citizens will be called back to speak in the order that the call was received. The "5 minute" rule still applies.
Citizens can also submit public comments by email at DoNotSpeakCM@LafayetteLa.gov. Citizens are asked to include their name, the agenda item and their position on that item.
As of noon on Tuesday, April 21, Lafayette Parish was reporting 423 cases of coronavirus with 17 deaths. There were no new deaths reported on Tuesday.
To view Monday's press conference, click here.
Across the state, 24,854 cases of coronavirus and 1,405 deaths had been reported by the Louisiana Department of Health.
LDH updates state numbers each day at noon.
To see the latest statewide or by parish, click here.
------------------------------------------------------------
Stay in touch with us anytime, anywhere.
To reach the newsroom or report a typo/correction, click HERE.
Download our free app for Apple,Android, Roku and Amazon devices.
Sign up for newsletters emailed to your inbox. Select from these options: Breaking News, Evening News Headlines, Latest COVID-19 Headlines, Morning News Headlines, Special Offers
