Military jets honour New Orleans virus workers

The U.S. Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, also known as The Blue Angels, flew over New Orleans, Louisiana on Wednesday to honor frontline COVID-19 first responders and essential workers. Flyovers were also held in Texas and Colorado.

Meanwhile, the number of people hospitalized for COVID-19 in Louisiana continued to trend downward Wednesday, along with the number of patients requiring ventilators, according to figures released by the state health department.

There were 1,465 people in the hospital with the disease caused by the new coronavirus, down from more than 1,500 on Tuesday; 187 of those patients were on ventilators, down from 194.

The number of confirmed coronavirus infections increased by more than 400 to 30,399 as the increasing number of people tested statewide neared 195,000. More than 20,000 are presumed to have recovered.

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The death toll related to the disease reached 2,094 Wednesday, an increase of 52.

Gov. John Bel Edwards lamented the increase in deaths but noted positive trends in the figures, such as the decrease in hospitalization rates and ventilator usage. However, he wasn’t ready to speculate on whether the state will be able to begin a phased reopening of businesses when his current emergency stay-at-home order expires May 15.

At a live-streamed news conference in Baton Rouge, Edwards said the state doesn’t yet have the data to show if all regions meet the criteria for reopening that the White House issued last month. Those include decreases in rates of hospitalizations and people reporting COVID-19 symptoms over a 14-day stretch. He said he expects to be able to make an announcement Monday.

Edwards was asked about legislative proposals that could affect his ability to deal with the emergency, including a resolution that was being debated Wednesday afternoon, amid pressure from some Republicans to reopen more of the state’s economy. “I don’t see any merit to the resolution,” Edwards said, noting support he received last week, during a White House visit, from President Donald Trump.

For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms. For others, the highly contagious virus can cause severe symptoms and be fatal.