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Edwin Edwards hospitalized for medical tests in Shreveport

The former governor's wife and his family spokesman said Edwards has tested negative for coronavirus but is undergoing "a battery of tests."

SHREVEPORT, La. — Edwin Edwards, the former four-term Louisiana governor, is back in the hospital this weekend for medical tests, according to his biographer and family spokesman.

Leo Honeycutt said Saturday that Edwards, 93, is "undergoing a battery of tests" at Ochsner LSU Health Medical Center in Shreveport. He was flown there by private plane from his home near Gonzales. 

Honeycutt did not elaborate on the reason for the tests but did say that the former governor is being treated for non-COVID-19-related issues.

His wife Trina said his doctors tested Edwards for coronavirus, for the third time in a month, and Edwards again tested negative.  

Credit: WWL
Edwin Edwards and his wife Trina at their wedding in 2011.

In a Facebook post, Trina Edwards said she appreciated people's concern but that her husband was in Shreveport for regularly-scheduled checkups. She said he was tested for coronavirus as a precaution but had no COVID-19 symptoms. "No worries, all is well here," she wrote.

She said her husband was undergoing tests at the same hospital where he was tested two years ago for respiratory and heart issues. 

Edwards had heart bypass surgery 24 years ago and annually develops pneumonia. In the statement, Edwards said he is "feeling fine."

In November, Edwards was hospitalized with pneumonia several days after he was released from a prior stay for breathing problems.

The four-term Democratic governor dominated Louisiana politics for much of the late 20th century, serving as governor from 1972 to 1980, from 1984 to 1988 and then from 1992 to 1996. 

He went to federal prison following a May 2000 corruption conviction for a scheme to rig riverboat casino licenses, but has always proclaimed his innocence. He was released in 2011.

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