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Business groups 'disappointed' by Gov. Edwards' Stay at Home Order extension

“Hundreds of thousands of Louisiana families continue to suffer each day we delay reopening the state’s economy. It’s past time to get Louisiana working..."

NEW ORLEANS — Disappointment seems to be the main reaction to Gov. John Bel Edwards’ extension of Louisiana’s Stay At Home Order.

Many businesses groups weighed in after the Governor extended the order to May 15 on Monday.

Stephen Waguespack, President of the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry, said the group is “disappointed” by the extension.

“Essential service industries such as groceries, hardware, maintenance and construction have operated safely and productively for weeks now and have shown us all that smart steps can be taken to protect the public AND serve the public at the same time,” Waguespack said. “Right now, other small businesses are simply asking for the same right to show they too can operate safely and responsibly to serve their community and hire back their workers.”

He added that Louisiana residents should be proud of all they’ve done to flatten the curve, but rebuilding the economy will take just as much effort.

“We hope state officials use this additional time to develop a robust and targeted plan that gives clear safety guidance going forward and takes bold actions to jump start our badly damaged economy. We will need both to overcome this and we will need it soon,” Waguespack said.

St. Tammany Parish President Mike Cooper was similarly disappointed, but said the extension is an opportunity for the parish to fine-tune their own reopening plan.

“Obviously, there is disappointment in the fact that small businesses and restaurants are unable to fully open under this Order. From a Parish standpoint, we cannot supersede a proclamation by the Governor nor do we do have the authority to be less restrictive than the Governor’s Order,” he said. “We will take this opportunity to fine-tune our re-opening plan, and use this time to continue to take the precautions necessary to decrease positive cases in St. Tammany.”

RELATED: Here's why Gov. Edwards said he had to extend the Stay at Home order

RELATED: Gov. Edwards extends Stay at Home Order to May 15

Daniel Erspamer, chief executive officer of the Pelican Institute, a conservative think tank, said that Edwards’ decision is based off incomplete data and that it is a mistake to delay reopening the state’s economy past May 1.

“Hundreds of thousands of Louisiana families continue to suffer each day we delay reopening the state’s economy. It’s past time to get Louisiana working, and we strongly urge the Governor and all of our elected officials to treat the worsening jobs and economic crisis with the same urgency as the ongoing COVID-19 health crisis,” the statement reads. “Because we’re dealing with incomplete data, there are no absolute right or wrong answers to these critical problems. We do know, however, that countless workers and families are suffering, and we need to get Louisianans safely back to work as soon as possible.”

Baton Rouge Area Chamber President and CEO Adam Knapp said the extension is an opportunity for many businesses to reopen, but in a different way.

“Returning businesses safely to operation remains an urgent priority. Under the extension of the Stay at Home order, many businesses are able to, and should, safely and smartly return to commerce,” Knapp said. “The concept of reopening is not necessarily the same as getting working again, and as we have seen demonstrated by businesses in essential industries, it is possible to operate under a new normal of safe work practices. Many businesses fall in the ‘grey area’ of the order, meaning that their business sector or type is not explicitly listed as having to physically close.”

Knapp pointed business owners to a recovery guide the group put together.

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