Here are local COVID developments

Here are local developments in the COVID-19 pandemic:
Festival
Louisiana Shrimp and Petroleum Festival organizers are monitoring the COVID situation, festival Director Hailee Thomas said Wednesday. For now, plans are to carry on with the Labor Day weekend event in Morgan City.
The festival was canceled last year because of COVID.
School
Both the St. Mary Parish public school system and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux, of which Central Catholic is a part, are telling parents that they will adhere to Gov. John Bel Edwards statewide mask mandate for people 5 and over in indoor public spaces.
Students will also be required to wear masks on buses.
The diocese said masks may be required outdoors when social distancing isn’t possible.
Masks are recommended for younger students in early childhood education programs.
Numbers
Another 55 new COVID cases were reported Wednesday in St. Mary Parish by the Louisiana Office of Public Health. The number of COVID fatalities rose by four to 151, and is likely to rise by at least two more after six east St. Mary COVID deaths were reported Sunday-Tuesday to the office of Coroner Eric Melancon.
The OPH reported 4,778 new cases and 44 deaths statewide Wednesday. COVID hospitalizations were up 135 to 2,247, the highest level of the pandemic.
Seventy of 83 ICU beds were in use Wednesday in Department of Health Region 3, which covers the area from St. Mary to St. John the Baptist parishes.
Ochsner
Ochsner Health System hospitals in Louisiana and Mississippi reported 821 COVID patients as of Tuesday, up 20 from Monday.
In the Bayou Region, which includes Ochsner St. Mary, hospitalizations were down by nine to 83.
Ochsner executives and physicians are seeing what they call a “concerning and significant” increase in COVID test positives among children.
The positivity rate among those 19 and younger was over 23% last week, up from less than 11% in early July.
Eleven young people in that age group were in Ochsner hospitals for COVID treatment Wednesday, up from seven Friday.
The average age of pediatric COVID patients last month was 12. In June, the average age was 16.