BATON ROUGE, La. (WGNO) — On September 9, Governor John Bel Edwards gave the latest update regarding Hurricane Ida’s recovery efforts.
In the press conference, Governor John Bel Edwards informed citizens that voting will have a month’s delay resulting from recovering from Hurricane Ida. Residents can stay updated by visiting the Secretary of States website: sos.la.gov
As of Thursday, 26 people have died from storm-related deaths according to state officials. Edwards mentioned 11 of those killed were from Orleans Parish, 9 out of 11 were from carbon monoxide poisoning.
“Please be careful in these hazardous conditions, please check on your neighbors who are older and have any underlying health conditions,” urged Edwards.
Although progress has been made restoring power to residents, Edwards said a significant number of residents still are without power.
State leaders also touched on the overall health of the public, both physical and mental.
The public was provided with resources for mental health. Anyone can call (866)-310-7977, 24 hours a day, and 7 days a week for free and confidential services.
Individuals can also text: 66746 and text talkwithus to have immediate contact with a counselor.
“My heart aches for everybody, we are going to work every single day to make improvements and we are going to get through this,” said Edwards.
In the conference, state officials also addressed how COVID-19 is still impacting the state significantly. On a positive note, 42.6 percent are fully vaccinated. Edwards said Louisiana just surpassed 50 percent of the population who is able to be vaccinated is vaccinated.
Although things are improving, Edwards said “We have a very long way to go.”
