BATON ROUGE - As the fight against the spread of COVID-19 continues, Governor John Bel Edwards has announced that he's requested a Major Disaster Declaration for the State of Louisiana. 

The declaration would allow the federal government to provide additional support to state and local agencies as they respond to the pandemic and its repercussions.

The governor issued a statement regarding his request on Tuesday morning, saying, "It is still impossible to know exactly how long the COVID-19 pandemic will impact Louisiana, but what we do know is that we have more cases per capita than every state, except for New York and Washington. Sadly, 34 people have died in Louisiana and our case count continues to rise, which is why we need additional federal aid." 

Gov. Edwards went on to say, “We have overwhelmed our stocks of key resources needed for our hospitals, first responders and emergency managers. There will be a long-lasting impact on the state of Louisiana, and we have taken aggressive mitigation measures to fight the spread of COVID-19."

"I have been appreciative of the support of the federal government, especially Vice President Mike Pence’s COVID-19 task force, and I am hopeful FEMA will quickly approve our request as we continue our response and work towards recovery.”

Click here to view the full declaration request.