Louisiana
Respiratory illness risk remains high in Louisiana. but is starting to decline
NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – After having one of the worst respiratory illness seasons in the country, Louisiana finally is on the decline in terms of hospitalizations and emergency room visits for influenza, COVID-19 and other respiratory ailments.
Numbers from the Louisiana Department of Health show 4,336 people across the state visited an emergency room seeking treatment for a respiratory illness in the week ending Feb. 3.
Emergency room visits for respiratory illnesses peaked in the week ending Dec. 23, 2023, when 10,617 people sought treatment statewide.
Hospitalizations for flu and COVID-19 also are down from peaks at the end of December and mid-January.
The percent positivity (the number of positive tests divided by the number of total tests) also is on the decline for flu, COVID-19 and RSV.
“Some of these viruses thrive best in cold weather, others do not,” said Fox 8 health educator Dr. Eric Griggs. “When it’s cold, we’re forced to go inside. A lot of us don’t do that in large congregations, unless we’re here going to Mardi Gras balls, which happen every other day. The more people are inside, the more respiratory viruses tend to propagate.”
Griggs said the news is positive, but that rates are still elevated in Louisiana and people shouldn’t let slip their defenses. He said taking simple measures to protect yourself and your family include frequently washing hands, coughing and sneezing into elbows, isolating when you get a positive test result and wearing a mask in large groups.
“As COVID becomes more infectious, it tends to become milder,” Griggs said. “It (also) becomes more contagious, and you tend to see the numbers go up.”
In the first week of January, Louisiana was listed as having “very high” — the top level — influenza activity. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have since downgraded Louisiana to “high” risk for respiratory illness.
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Louisiana
‘Sinners’ shines light on blues legends from Louisiana. See who, how they contributed.
Hopefully Ryan Coogler has a U-Haul on standby. The 39-year-old movie director may need a moving van March 15 to bring the Oscars home for his horror film, “Sinners.”
The movie, which grossed $369 million in worldwide box office receipts, is up for a record 16 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor and Best Original Song.
This image released by CBS Broadcasting shows Ryan Coogler, center, accepting the award for cinematic and box office achievement for “Sinners” during the 83rd Golden Globes on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif.
“Sinners” is already a winner for putting the spotlight on the blues and at least three Louisiana musicians who shaped the sound. Much of the vampire thriller is set in Southern juke joints of the 1930s, makeshift dancehalls that shook with sounds that poured the foundation for rock ‘n’ roll, soul, R&B, rap, country and more.
Coogler illustrates that past and future in a scene with the original song, “I Lied to You.” The 1930s scene drifts to visions of the coming decades of rock, rap, break dancing and funk.
Buddy Guy uses a drum stick to play a Jimi Hendrix tune at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on May 4, 2023.
Buddy Guy, an 89-year-old native of Pointe Coupee Parish, appears briefly in the movie as an aging version of the character Sammie “Preacher Boy” Moore. Born in 1936 in Lettsworth, Guy was a product of this “Sinners” era with skills that heavily influenced Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughan and others considered guitar gods.
A Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winner and Kennedy Center honoree, Guy is still going strong with a tour of Australia set for April.
Fellow blues senior and Homer native Bobby Rush has also enjoyed “Sinners” notoriety, along with the late harmonica legend Little Walter of Marksville. Rush, 92, wasn’t seen in the movie, but his harmonica was used for the character “Delta Slim.”
Bluesman Bobby Rush, 92, right, performs with Kenny Wayne Shepherd in the Blues Tent during the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival at the Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans, Saturday, May 3, 2025. (Staff photo by Scott Threlkeld, The Times-Picayune)
Guy and actor Miles Caton performed the Little Walter original, “Juke.” The song has more than 2.2 million streams on Spotify and nearly 750,000 plays on YouTube.
Like Guy, Rush is not resting in his senior years. Between now and end of May, Rush has gigs stretching from the French Quarter Festival in New Orleans to the Ribs & Blues Festival in the Netherlands.
Similar to Guy, Little Walter, born Marion Walter Jacobs in 1930, left Louisiana for Chicago, where he recorded “Juke,” “My Babe” and more groundbreaking harmonica blues. Renowned as an alcoholic with a short fuse and numerous fight injuries, Walter only lived to the age of 37.
Art director Tim Davis helped create the church in “Sinners,” and fans have analyzed its design. Miles Caton plays preacher boy Sammie in the film.
Yet the blues of Walter, Rush and Guy live on, thanks to “Sinners,” introducing a new generation to the foundation of American music.
Herman Fuselier is executive director of the St. Landry Parish Tourist Commission. A longtime journalist covering Louisiana music and culture, he lives in Opelousas. His “Zydeco Stomp” show airs at noon Saturdays on KRVS Public Media.
Louisiana
Louisiana State Police provide update on officer-involved shooting in Gonzales
Louisiana State Police released updated information regarding an officer-involved shooting March 5 in Ascension Parish.
According to an LSP news release, the preliminary investigation found that a Gonzales Police Department officer conducted a traffic stop at around 10:45 p.m. near the intersection of South John Street and Orice Roth Road.
In the release, LSP identified the driver of the vehicle as 21-year-old Anthony Talbert of Baton Rouge, who was accompanied by a female passenger.
During the stop, Talbert allegedly reached toward a firearm that was inside the vehicle, per the release.
The officer responded by discharging a department-issued firearm one time, which grazed both Talbert and the unidentified female, the release continued.
According to police, Talbert then fled the scene, exceeding 100 miles per hour and disregarding multiple traffic controls.
Troopers reported Talbert was taken into custody following a short pursuit.
He was booked into the Ascension Parish Jail on charges of aggravated flight, reckless operation, obstruction of justice and possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony, police said in the release.
Per troopers, the female was transported to a hospital and was treated for minor injuries.
LSP’s initial news release reported no officers were injured.
According to police, the investigation remained active and further information would be released as available.
Michael Tortorich is a journalist for the USA Today Network in Louisiana.
Gonzales Weekly Citizen and Donaldsonville Chief, part of the USA Today Network of Louisiana, cover Ascension Parish and the greater Baton Rouge area. Follow at facebook.com/WeeklyCitizen and facebook.com/DonaldsonvilleChief.
Louisiana
Should Shreveport homeowners buy earthquake insurance in Louisiana?
Louisiana’s ‘largest’ ever earthquake rattles home security camera
A security camera captured the moment a 4.9-magnitude earthquake shook homes in northwest Louisiana.
Thursday’s earthquake that shook furniture and rattled pipes in the Shreveport region may have some property owners wondering whether they should consider buying insurance to cover them from potential stronger movement in the future.
The 4.9 magnitude earthquake that struck just north of Coushatta at 5:30 a.m. March 5 was the strongest onshore event in Louisiana history.
No structural damage has been reported from Thursday’s earthquake so far, but the strength of the movement may have been enough to raise concern.
“If people are concerned they should call their insurance agent and explore pricing and options,” Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple said in an interview with USA Today Network.
“It’s not an issue that has come up often in Louisiana, but if coverage can alleviate anxiety and risk it’s absolutely something homeowners and property owners should consult their agent about,” he said.
Earth movement or subsidence insurance is generally excluded from homeowners’ policies, as is flood insurance, but property owners can secure the coverage through their insurers as an add-on, called an endorsement.
Eugene Montgomery, owner of Community Financial Insurance Center in northern Louisiana, said a subsidence endorsement to cover earthquake damage would generally be inexpensive in Louisiana because of the low risk.
“The coverage itself is inexpensive, but the deductible would be high,” Montgomery told USA Today Network.
That’s the case for one Shreveport homeowner who asked not to be identified. The homeowner secured a subsidence endorsement following Thursday’s earthquake that cost $120 per year after discounts with a 10% deductible.
Republican state Sen. Adam Bass, who also operates an Allstate agency in Bossier, said most people won’t buy an add-on that’s not required by their mortgage holders no matter how inexpensive it is.
Bass said he hasn’t had any inquiries about earth movement insurance during his career.
But Montgomery said he remembers a temporary spike in those policies in 1990 when climatologist Iben Brown predicted a major earthquake would strike the New Madrid Fault in Missouri on Dec. 3 of that year, a forecast that flopped.
“It really created a little bit of a panic,” Montgomery said. “Everybody wanted insurance for a short period of time.”
Montgomery doesn’t expect a similar run on earthquake after Thursday’s event, but said he won’t be surprised if some level of interest increases.
“When people can actually feel the earth moving it gets their attention,” he said.
Greg Hilburn covers state politics for the USA TODAY Network of Louisiana. Follow him on Twitter @GregHilburn1.
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