John Bel Edwards

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Congregants arrive at the Life Tabernacle Church in Central, La., Sunday, March 29, 2020. Pastor Tony Spell has defied a shelter-in-place order by Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards, due to the new coronavirus pandemic, and continues to hold church services with hundreds of congregants. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Louisiana governor: stay-home order ‘may well’ be extended

By JANET McCONNAUGHEY - Associated Press

A sign indicating an arrival area for ambulances is seen outside the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, part of which is being converted into a hospital due to the new coronavirus epidemic, in New Orleans, Friday, March 27, 2020. Officials are standing up what could be the largest hospital in the country, said Joseph Kanter, assistant state health officer at the Louisiana Department of Health. It will be built in the convention center, a sprawling facility along the Mississippi River that is generally packed with a revolving parade of conventions and conferences but is currently closed. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Pace of infection slows in Louisiana as coronavirus death toll climbs to 119

By James Varney - The Washington Times

The driver of a New Orleans RTA bus wears protective clothing to protect against coronavirus while driving homeless to the Hilton Garden Inn New Orleans French Quarter/CBD on Thursday, March 26, 2020. The hotel is permitting homeless residents to live in their hotel during the coronavirus pandemic. (Chris Granger/The Advocate via AP)

Coronavirus reaches 2 Louisiana prisons as cases increase

By MELINDA DESLATTE - Associated Press

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards speaks at a news conference regarding the spread of COVID-19 in the state, Wednesday, March 25, 2020, in Baton Rouge, La. (Hilary Scheinuk/The Advocate via AP)

New Orleans reels under alarming coronavirus infection rate

By James Varney - The Washington Times

FILE - In this Sunday, March 22, 2020, file photo, street performer Eddie Webb looks around the nearly deserted French Quarter looking to make money in New Orleans. Like many cities around the country, New Orleans is currently under a shelter-in-place order as it grapples with a growing number of coronavirus cases. In Louisiana, Gov. John Bel Edwards has repeatedly sounded the alarm about how Louisiana has the third-highest rate of confirmed virus cases per capita while at the same time noting the difficulty of the small state getting supplies. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)

Louisiana to receive federal field hospitals for virus

By JANET McCONNAUGHEY and MELINDA DESLATTE - Associated Press

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards, center, speaks about &quot;flattening the curve&quot; of the rate of spread of COVID-19 by limiting contact between people, at a briefing of media members on the state's coronavirus response at a press conference at the Governor's Office of Homeland Security &amp; Emergency Management, Tuesday, March 24, 2020, in Baton Rouge, La. Sign language interpreter Daniel Burch is next to him, left. (Travis Spradling/The Advocate via AP, Pool)

Increased testing shows ballooning virus cases in Louisiana

By MELINDA DESLATTE and KEVIN McGILL - Associated Press

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards talks about the state's response to the coronavirus outbreak, Tuesday, March 24, 2020, in Baton Rouge, La. The Democratic governor requested a federal disaster declaration for his state, which has one of the nation's highest per-capita rates of virus infection. (AP Photo/Melinda Deslatte)

Louisiana hit with big jump in coronavirus cases, deaths

By James Varney - The Washington Times

Among other announcements, Gov. John Bel Edwards banned gatherings of 50 or more in another dramatic step to limit the spread of the Coronavirus during a news conference at GOHSEP Monday March 16, 2020, in Baton Rouge, La. He also announced the legislative session is suspended until March 31st. (Bill Feig/The Advocate via AP, Pool)

Jazz Festival postponed as virus reaches Louisiana capital

By KEVIN McGILL and MELINDA DESLATTE - Associated Press

New Orleans mayor blasts large gatherings despite virus ban

Associated Press

Louisiana lawmakers on the House health care and homeland security committees met jointly to get an update on the new coronavirus, on Wednesday, March 11, 2020, in Baton Rouge, La. For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms. For some it can cause more severe illness, especially in older adults and people with existing health problems. (AP Photo/Melinda Deslatte)

Analysis: Coronavirus may upend Louisiana lawmaking session

By MELINDA DESLATTE - Associated Press

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards, at podium, speaks during a news conference updating the status of the coronavirus threat in the state, Wednesday, March 11, 2020, at the Governor's Office of Homeland Security &amp; Emergency Management, in Baton Rouge, La. Some of the members of the Unified Command Group are behind him, including, from left, Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser; Jimmy Guidry, M.D., State Health Officer of Louisiana and Louisiana Department of Health Medical Director; Alex Billioux, M.D., Assistant Secretary of Health for the Louisiana Department of Health's Office of Public Health; Ava Dejoie, Secretary of the Louisiana Workforce Commission; Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon and Commissioner of Administration Jay Dardenne. (Travis Spradling/The Advocate via AP)

Governor closes schools, delays primary due to coronavirus

By MELINDA DESLATTE - Associated Press

U.S. Surgeon General VADM Jerome M. Adams, M.D., M.P.H., right, squirts hand sanitizer into Gov. John Bel Edwards, left, palm as the pair talk about the coronavirus at a press conference at the state capital Thursday March 12, 2020, in Baton Rouge, La. (Bill Feig/The Advocate via AP)/The Advocate via AP)

Louisiana governor, US surgeon general meet on coronavirus

By MELINDA DESLATTE - Associated Press

Louisiana education board splits with governor on financing

By MELINDA DESLATTE - Associated Press

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards, center, bumps elbows with state Rep. Patrick Jefferson, D-Homer, instead of his traditional handshake, as a precaution against the COVID-9 Coronavirus, as he walks down the aisle of the House Chambers for the opening of the 2020 general legislative session in Baton Rouge, La., Monday, March 9, 2020. Edwards subsequently announced to the legislature that Louisiana today had its first confirmed case of the virus in Jefferson Parish. Right is Edwards wife Donna Edwards. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Edwards urges calm as coronavirus case reported in Louisiana

By MELINDA DESLATTE - Associated Press

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards speaks during his inauguration at the state Capitol in Baton Rouge, La., Monday, Jan. 13, 2020. (AP Photo/Brett Duke)

Louisiana opens legislative session amid coronavirus concern

By MELINDA DESLATTE - Associated Press

Analysis: Republicans, business align on main session focus

By MELINDA DESLATTE - Associated Press

Commissioner of Administration Jay Dardenne, the governor's chief budget adviser, left; House Speaker Clay Schexnayder, R-Gonzales, center; and Senate President Page Cortez, R-Lafayette, speak ahead of a meeting of Louisiana's income forecasting panel on Friday, Feb. 7, 2020, in Baton Rouge, La. (AP Photo/Melinda Deslatte)

Louisiana’s three-month legislative session opening Monday

By MELINDA DESLATTE - Associated Press

Edwards expects virus to reach Louisiana, says don’t panic

Associated Press

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards speaks about his state's preparations for the new coronavirus and about his legislative agenda for the upcoming session on Monday, March 2, 2020, in Baton Rouge, La. (AP Photo/Melinda Deslatte)

Louisiana governor outlines legislative session agenda

By MELINDA DESLATTE - Associated Press

Analysis: Edwards gets new criticism with tax break change

By MELINDA DESLATTE - Associated Press