Hospitalizations take a slight dip; ventilator use increases
August 19, 2021
Judge Grants Louisiana AG’s Request for a Preliminary Injunction Against Biden Administration Immigration Policies
August 19, 2021
Governor John Bel Edwards issued a statement yesterday on President Biden’s extension of the use of the National Guard under Title 32 along with the FEMA public assistance.
Gov. Edwards stated, “I want to thank President Biden and his administration for recognizing the ongoing important role of the National Guard in our fight against COVID-19. Our state was the first to petition the administration to extend Title 32 until the end of the year, and I’m grateful for President Biden’s decision. The Guard is a critical part of what we do especially as we continue battling this devastating fourth surge of COVID driven by the highly transmissible Delta variant. On any given week, hundreds of soldiers and airmen are administering thousands of tests and vaccines, providing medical support and distributing supplies and food to food banks across the state. Keeping them in place is incredibly important.
“In Louisiana, today, we reported over 3,000 COVID hospitalizations for this first time since the beginning of the pandemic and sadly, 122 deaths, the second highest single day death count. We are working hard to increase vaccinations throughout our state, and these efforts rely heavily on assistance from our federal partners. The Louisiana National Guard has 919 Guardsmen currently activated, and I am extremely grateful for their hard work and commitment to protecting and serving the people of this great state.”
The memorandum stated, “It is the policy of my Administration to combat and respond to COVID-19 with the full capacity and capability of the Federal Government to protect and support our families, schools, and businesses, and to assist State, local, Tribal, and territorial governments to do the same, including through emergency and disaster assistance available from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).”
It also stated that FEMA shall provide a 100 percent Federal cost share for all work eligible for assistance under Public Assistance Category B, pursuant to sections 403 (42 U.S.C. 5170b), 502 (42 U.S.C. 5192), and 503 (42 U.S.C. 5193) of the Stafford Act, which includes work described in section 3(a) of the Presidential Memorandum of January 21, 2021 (Memorandum to Extend Federal Support to Governors’ Use of the National Guard to Respond to COVID-19 and to Increase Reimbursement and Other Assistance Provided to States), and in section 2 of that memorandum on the Governors’ use of the National Guard, performed from January 20, 2020, through December 31, 2021.
Read the full memorandum here.
