Coronavirus: Louisiana reached a coronavirus testing benchmark in the latest full month of test administration and has made a sizable dent in its virus tracking goals, as Gov. John Bel Edwards’ administration relaxed restrictions on businesses and churches. Infectious disease specialists and state leaders will be waiting to see if Louisiana’s efforts are enough to control the highly contagious coronavirus as people spend more time out of their homes and interacting with others in a state that was once one of the nation’s virus hot spots. And a chief determinant of Louisiana’s ability to contain the outbreak can’t be controlled by Edwards’ plans, virus testing and tracking because it involves personal decision-making.Read the full analysis.
GDP predictions: Business economists expect the U.S. this year to suffer its worst downturn in more than seven decades before growth resumes sometime next year. A survey released this morning by the National Association for Business Economics predicts that the gross domestic product—the total value of goods and services produced in the U.S.—will fall 5.9% for 2020 as a result of the recession triggered by the virus. That would be the sharpest annual decline since GDP fell 11.6% in 1946, when the nation was demobilizing after World War II. Read the full story.
Parks closed: BREC Superintendent Corey Wilson announced that all BREC facilities will be closed today due to Tropical Storm Cristobal. Employees responsible for the care and feeding of animals and those who must check on and secure property will report to work. All summer camps were also canceled.
