VP VISITS LA .- Vice President Mike Pence paid Louisiana a visit yesterday. The purpose of which was for Pence, who is chairman of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, to speak with Governor John Bel Edwards and other state leaders about the state’s response to the Covid-19 surge. At gathering inside LSU's Tiger Stadium, Pence described the nation as “in a much better position today to deal with the pandemic” even as virus cases surge across much of the country.
"While the rise of the cases is serious, the people of this state and this nation deserve to know that our ability to respond to this pandemic is substantially better than two and three months ago when the coronavirus first came to Louisiana," Pence said.
Pence also spoke with higher education leaders and encouraged Louisiana to reopen K-12 schools and its colleges for in-person instruction even though the state has reemerged as one of the nation’s hot spots for the coronavirus.
"To open up America we've got to open up America's schools," Pence explained. "We believe it's absolutely in the best interests of the students academically, and in terms of every aspect of their personal well-being to get kids back in the classroom in K-12 and get students back on campuses like LSU."
Louisiana isn't taking the wide-open approach sought by Pence. Schools are planning a hybrid-mix of online and in-person learning this fall. Governor Edwards took a moment to thank the Vice President for his visit and for the Whitehouse Task Force’s assistance in getting more Covid-19 Testing to Louisiana.
"And my comittment to the Vice President is the same as it is to the people of Louisiana," Edwards said. "We're going to do what's required to get back in front of this virus and flatten the curve again and make sure that we are protecting the most vulnerable, that we are saving lives."
On Monday Governor Edwards statewide mask-mandate went into effect requiring people to wear protective face masks while visiting stores or public buildings. Vice President Mike Pence supports the governor’s mandate as does Dr. Deborah Birx, a member of the Whitehouse Corona Virus Task Force, she said people need to follow the Governor’s mandate to reduce the coronavirus spread.
"We have the opportunity to change the future for Louisiana and be able to decrease the number of cases every day if each of us wear a masks, stay out of bars, make sure you don't have large gatherings in your households and really protect one another," Birx explained. "And do what we always have said: protecting the most vulnerable."
Others who were part of the Vice President’s visit to Louisiana yesterday included Secretary of Education Betsy DeVoss, Assistant Secretary for Health, Admiral Brett Giroir, and Louisiana Senators John Kennedy, Bill Cassidy and Representative Steve Scalise.
Of those Louisiana officials who did not meet Vice President Mike Pence during his visit yesterday, was state Attorney General Jeff Landry who has tested positive for COVID-19. According to several media reports -- Landry notified his staff of his diagnosis with an email Tuesday. Landry’s e-mail stated at the time although he did test positive for Covid-19, he was not experiencing any symptoms.
