Gov. Edwards addresses COVID-19 in SWLA With more vaccines available and more people becoming eligible to get it, there’s hope that Southwest Louisiana could turn around those numbers. By Andrea Robinson | April 1, 2021 at 8:25 PM CDT - Updated April 1 at 9:00 PM LAKE CHARLES, La. (KPLC) - Governor John Bel Edwards paid a visit to Lake Charles Thursday afternoon for a groundbreaking, but he also addressed the high volume of coronavirus cases in Southwest Louisiana and the low vaccination rate. With more vaccines available and more people becoming eligible to get it, there’s hope that Southwest Louisiana could turn around those numbers.