Officials warn against 'startling' surge in COVID cases

Staff Report
The Governor’s Office put out a new and more urgent call Friday for Louisiana people to get COVID-19 vaccinations during what a press release called a “startling surge” in new cases among those who haven’t received their shots.
If you’re not vaccinated, Gov. John Bel Edwards said, “it’s time to run, not walk, to one of the more than 1,400 locations where they are readily available across the state of Louisiana.”
The urgency comes from the rapid transmissibility of the Delta variant of COVID-19 and Louisiana’s low vaccination rate, near the bottom among the states. And St. Mary, identified early as a “highest risk” parish in what public health officials are beginning to call a fourth wave, lags the state.
St. Mary’s vaccination rate has remained virtually unchanged in recent weeks and stood at 29.56% as of Thursday. St. Martin’s rate is 29.06%, and Assumption’s is 30.16%.
About 49% of the U.S. population has been vaccinated. The rate in Louisiana is 36%.
Statewide, according to the Governor’s Office:
—The number of new cases diagnosed each day in Louisiana has been increasing since June 16 and is now increasing in all nine regions of the state. The statewide average daily number of cases per 100,000 residents has increased 177% over the past 14 days.
—The number of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 throughout Louisiana has been increasing for the past 14 days, with 245 additional hospitalized patients added during that time, as of today’s reporting. That is double the number from two weeks ago.
—Statewide percent positivity of new COVID-19 tests conducted is now 6.3% and has been increasing for the past five weeks.
—During the past week, 35 new outbreaks and 200 new outbreak-associated cases have been identified. This represents a 169% increase in the number of reported outbreaks and a 96% increase in the number of outbreak-associated cases compared to the previous week.
The settings with the greatest outbreak increases included camps, child day cares, religious services and restaurants. In addition to the widespread circulation of the more transmissible Delta variant, insufficient masking and distancing, especially among unvaccinated individuals, are also contributing to the spread of COVID-19 in these settings.
Everyone aged 12 and older is eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine in Louisiana. The Food and Drug Administration has only authorized one of the three COVID-19 vaccines — from Pfizer — for children ages 12 to 17. Parents should confirm with the vaccine provider that their child is under 18 to ensure Pfizer vaccine is available before making an appointment.
For a list of locations, visit LDH’s vaccine directory or visit vaccines.gov, which is maintained by the federal government.
To get a list of vaccine locations near you text your ZIP code to GETVAX (438829) in English, or VACUNA (822862) in Spanish.
If you have questions, would like to speak with a medical professional, or need help scheduling an appointment, call Louisiana’s vaccine hotline at 1-855-453-0774.
Ochsner Health System’s vaccination plans for this week include availability 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday at Leonard Chabert Medical Center, Houma