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December 30, 1931 ~ March 11, 2020

ABBEVILLE — Funeral services will be held at 11:00 AM on Friday, March 13, 2020 at Vincent Funeral Home - Abbeville honoring the life of Benjamin Joseph Bourque, 88, who died Wednesday, March 11, 2020 at The Carpenter House of St. Joseph Hospice. He will be laid to rest at St. Paul Cemetery with Deacon William "Billy" Vincent officiating the services.
Ben is survived by his wife, Cheath Chea Nguyen; four sons, Richard Bourque and his wife Kathy of Forked Island, Calvin Bourque and his wife Jamie of Morgan City, Jerry Bourque and his wife Lori of Youngsville, and Norris Bourque of Abbeville; one daughter, Elizabeth "Liz" Dore of Erath; nine grandchildren; sisters, Gladys Henry of Kaplan, Mary Ann Trahan of Kaplan, and Kathy Meaux of Abbeville; and brothers, Preston Bourque of Abbeville, and Ray Allen Bourque of Colorado.
He was preceded in death by his father, Ophe Bourque; mother, Elodie Bertrand Lege; two brothers, Leroy Lege, and Lovelace "Bee" Bourque; and sisters, Ethel Deshotel, and Delta Latiolais.
The family requests that visiting hours be observed at Vincent Funeral Home - Abbeville, 209 S. St. Charles St., on Thursday, March 12, 2020 from 10:00 AM until 10:00 PM with a rosary being prayed at 7:00 PM; Friday, March 13, 2020 from 8:00 AM until time of services.
Condolences may be sent to the family at www.vincentfuneralhome.net.
All funeral arrangements are being conducted by Vincent Funeral Home of Abbeville, (337) 893-4661.

By David Jacobs | The Center Square

(The Center Square) – Louisiana will impose restrictions on visiting nursing homes, prisons and jails over the next 30 days, Gov. John Bel Edwards said Thursday.
The details will be announced soon, Edwards said during a joint news conference with U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams. Adams was in Baton Rouge on a visit scheduled before the recent coronavirus outbreak.
“I hope that the people who are out there who are inconvenienced and unable to visit a loved one will understand we’re doing this for the protection of their loved one,” Edwards said.
Edwards and Adams noted that most people are not at high risk of serious complications from COVID-19, the illness caused by the new coronavirus, but urged everyone to take proper precautions to help protect people who are in high-risk groups, such as older people and those with chronic health conditions.
Adams stressed that people should understand their own risks and those of their organizations, which are explained at coronavirus.gov, and how those factors should affect their plans.
“Preparing doesn’t mean panicking,” he said.
To the extent that they can while remaining consistent with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, people should go about their lives as normal, Edwards said. His advice comes amid the cancellation of numerous events as Louisiana enters the spring festival season, which is important to the state’s tourism industry and related businesses.
“If you’re sick, stay home from work,” he said. “If you’re not, go to work.”
Adams praised President Donald Trump’s “bold and aggressive action” combating the spread of the coronavirus, including a 30-day restriction on travel from much of Europe Trump announced Wednesday night. Adams clarified that the restrictions do not apply to U.S. citizens, a distinction Trump did not make clear in his national address.
“Now is not the time to politicize situations,” Adams said, in response to a question about Trump’s statements in recent weeks about the virus and the federal government’s response to it.
Originally, China was the source of most new infections, he said. Now Europe, specifically Italy, is “the new China.”
“We are shifting from a containment posture to a mitigation posture,” Adams said. “We’ve got the coronavirus in our communities. What can we do to lower the impact of it, [and] to slow the spread of it?”
For most people, that includes washing hands frequently with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. Hand sanitizer is a useful backup but is less effective and harder to acquire right now, Adams noted.
Adams said public officials should be “really careful when we’re talking about closures.” For example, if you close a school, you need a plan for where the children will go and who will take care of them.
“I felt very reassured by what I heard from the state department of health here in Louisiana about the availability of testing,” Adams said.
At the same time, resources are limited and people who are not sick don’t need to be tested, he added, urging people to contact a health care professional to discuss if testing is appropriate for them.
As of Thursday morning, Louisiana had 14 “presumed positive” cases that had not been confirmed by the CDC, state officials said. “Community spread,” meaning spread of the virus that is not related to travel, is believed to be happening in the New Orleans area.
COVID-19 is the official name of the disease caused by the new coronavirus. Symptoms of COVID-19 can include fever, coughing and trouble breathing.
Most people who have COVID-19 develop only mild symptoms. But some people, usually the elderly and those with other medical complications, develop more severe symptoms, including pneumonia, which can be fatal.

Eaton Park Elementary’s Support Person of the Year is Cheryl Koch.

BATON ROUGE — The Louisiana Department of Health reported on Tuesday evening three new presumptive positive cases of COVID-19, commonly referred to as coronavirus. All three are residents of Orleans Parish. Two are hospitalized in Orleans Parish; the third is hospitalized in St. Tammany Parish.
Gov. John Bel Edwards said, “Currently, we have a total of six presumptive positive cases of coronavirus in Louisiana. While we investigate these cases, we cannot disclose any additional information about these patients at this time.”
The presumptive positive tests will be sent to the CDC for final confirmation of COVID-19. Louisiana will move forward as if the tests are actual positives and take actions to contain the illness and assess the risk of spread.
Additional tests will be administered to determine if more people have been infected after the Department’s epidemiology team performs an investigation of close contacts.
At this time, there are a total of six known cases of the illness in the state. Gov. Edwards announced the state’s first presumptive positive case, a Jefferson Parish resident, on Monday, March 9, and two additional presumptive positive cases on Tuesday afternoon, both in Orleans Parish.
“At this point in our investigation we believe the first presumptive positive announced yesterday [Monday] is not travel-related and was community acquired,” said Dr. Alex Billioux, Assistant Secretary of the Office of Public Health.

Louisiana ramps up testing

This comes as the state has increased testing for the virus.
In the five days since receiving more test kits from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, LDH has tested more than seven times as many people for the virus.
With 43 tests of Persons Under Investigation (PUI) now completed, only six have been identified as presumptive positive in Louisiana. This compares to five completed tests as of Friday, March 6.
Health officials expected that increased testing for COVID-19 would lead to confirmation of additional cases in the state.
LDH is following the CDC’s guidance and testing three groups of people – those who have traveled to certain areas and have symptoms, those who have had close contact with someone confirmed to have COVID-19 and have symptoms, and people with an unexplained acute respiratory illness.
The recent testing by the state laboratory run by LDH’s Office of Public Health includes samples from people who went to their doctor or to a hospital and had symptoms consistent with COVID-19, cough, headache, or lower respiratory illness. Some patients had recently traveled to a geographic area with known COVID-19 activity, while others did not have such a travel history.
In other instances, OPH is using the tests for surveillance purposes. This is done using existing disease surveillance infrastructure that includes several hospitals and clinics throughout Louisiana. For COVID-19 surveillance, when patients are treated for respiratory illnesses, but are not diagnosed with influenza, swabbed samples are sent to the State public health lab where the COVID-19 test is done. Following CDC guidance, a sampling of cases from each site are sent the lab. This is a proven and effective system for the early detection of diseases, allowing health officials to take the appropriate next steps.
For all people who have symptoms and who are being tested, they and their healthcare provider are being advised on precautions to take to prevent spreading the illness to others. Precautions include self-isolation at home or in an isolation room at the hospital.
Some commercial labs are now equipped to conduct COVID-19 testing. With these private labs ready to test, healthcare providers will start sending their samples to those labs. LDH will be notified of any positive results coming from a commercial lab.
Appropriate treatment and precautions will immediately be put in place for any positive commercial test before that test is confirmed by the State lab, and the public will be notified.

Advice for the public

State officials encourage Louisianans to take the following proactive steps to protect the health of themselves and those around them:
Cover your cough.
Stay home if you are sick.
Wash your hands frequently and thoroughly with soap and water, or with a hand sanitizer containing at least 60% alcohol if soap and water are not available.
Disinfect frequently touched surfaces.
Avoid close contact (within six feet) with those who are sick.
Symptoms can include fever, cough and shortness of breath or difficulty breathing. CDC believes at this time that symptoms of COVID-19 may appear in as few as two days or as long as 14 days after exposure.

Additional information on COVID-19 can be found on LDH’s website: ldh.la.gov/coronavirus.
About the Louisiana Department of Health

The Louisiana Department of Health strives to protect and promote health statewide and to ensure access to medical, preventive and rehabilitative services for all state residents. The Louisiana Department of Health includes the Office of Public Health, Office of Aging & Adult Services, Office of Behavioral Health, Office for Citizens with Developmental Disabilities, and Healthy Louisiana (Medicaid). To learn more, visit www.ldh.la.gov or follow us on Twitter, Facebook or our blog.