Mayor Mark Piazza and the Abbeville City Council are monitoring the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. As of noon today, April 2, 2020, there have been 176 tests administered in Vermilion Parish with 16 confirmed cases and one death.
Mayor Piazza has reached out to large retailers within the City of Abbeville to discuss additional measures to ensure the safety of their employees and citizens. Retailers are increasing sanitation efforts and are working to reduce traffic within stores. Please obey safety measures put in place by retailers. They are in place for your safety and to protect essential workers serving their community. If you must visit a retailer for necessities, please adhere to the one person, 1 cart rule and do not bring additional persons with you to the store. The safest place for family members is at home. When possible, shop with a list to limit time in store and reduce chance of exposure. Please limit the items you touch to those you intend to purchase and limit any social interaction during your trip. A simple smile or wave is safer for you and your neighbor.
We ask members of our community to follow Governor’s John Bel Edwards stay at home order. This order is based on federal guidelines and recommendations from medical experts. Please stay home when possible, practice social distancing when you must go out and use proper sanitary practices such as hand washing. Avoid gatherings both public and private. There is a 10 person limit to all gatherings.
The City of Abbeville has a curfew in place for adults and minors. This curfew prohibits and/or controls non-essential pedestrian and vehicular traffic between the hours of 9:00 PM – 5:00 AM. Officers will make traffic stops during the curfew hours.
The Mayor and Council are also working with Vermilion Economic Development, Vermilion Chamber of Commerce and One Acadiana to provide outreach to businesses and citizens adversely affected from COVID-19. We are here to help. We will share information as we receive it as well as provide targeted outreach to community businesses.
On a positive note, after a week of testing, the Parish testing site at 220 North Road, Erath, LA 70533, headed by Abbeville General, has seen a decline in the number people seeking testing. As a result of this decline, they have scaled back to 3 days per week. Testing is available on Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 10:00 AM – Noon. If you are experiencing symptoms or have been exposed to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19, please call 337-892-6999 from 8:00 AM- 12:00 PM for mandatory pre-screening. You may also call your primary care physician, local walk-in clinic or 534-TEST (8378) for screening.
This is a growing pandemic and the threat is far from over. We are the first line of defense in the fight against this virus. Please follow the orders and recommendations put in place in the interest of public and personal safety.
For more information and guidelines, visit http://ldh.la.gov/Coronavirus/. Statistics are updated daily at 12 noon.
