Governor Edwards Responds to Trump Reopening Country

On Thursday, Governor John Bel Edwards did a virtual town hall in response to the president's decision to reopen the country.

The White House has decided to leave the decision of reopening the country to the state governors. Edwards told the Advocate in a virtual town hall that Louisiana will not be among the states to reopen any time soon. Louisiana still has a high rate of infections and deaths at this time.

Edwards said we still are not meeting the requirements made by the White House to reopen but hopes by May 1, when the stay-home-order expires, we will.

Edwards said state restrictions could extend into May and there will be changes to daily life for months. According to the governor, social distancing will be in place till there is a vaccine, which could take up to a year or longer.