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Exercise safely after recovering from COVID-19

Wed, 08/11/2021 - 8:42am

The number of people who have been infected by the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, is difficult to determine, as millions of people may have had the virus but been asymptomatic. But as of April 2021, the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University reported that more than 31 million people in the United States have had confirmed coronavirus infections, and Canada reported 1,087,158 confirmed cases with 80,204 considered active at that time.
Thousands of new cases are reported daily nationwide, and many others have occurred around the world.
Even though COVID- 19 is widespread and highly contagious, the silver lining is that a very high percentage of people recover from the disease. WebMD says that recovery rates fluctuate between 97 and 99.75 percent. However, COVID-19 can affect various parts of the body and produce long-lasting side effects.
A study from the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency found that 91 percent of people who recovered from COVID-19 reported at least one long-lasting symptom, and fatigue and trouble concentrating were the most common. With this in mind, individuals who have recovered from the illness and want to get back to their daily activities - including exercising - may need to be especially careful.
Health experts recommend a slow, phased approach to resuming exercise after recovering from COVID-19. It’s also worth noting that it may take some time to regain pre-illness fitness levels, so individuals are urged to go easy on themselves if they cannot meet certain milestones.
David Salman, Ph.D., a clinical fellow in primary care at the Imperial College London, was lead author of a report published in the British Medical Journal that aimed to answer questions about returning to exercise. One of his recommendations is to wait for seven days after major symptoms have stopped before beginning to slowly build up physical activity. One should start with light-intensity exercises, such as walking or yoga.
Gradually, more challenging activities, including brisk walking, swimming or light resistance training, can be introduced. Each phase should be maintained for at least seven days.
People should be mindful of getting out of breath or feeling too fatigued by exercise. If this occurs, they should move back a phase until exercise feels comfortable. Pay attention to body cues while doing normal daily activities, as these can help determine if you need to rest.
The University of Colorado Boulder Health and Wellness Services says exercise should not continue if people experience chest pain, difficulty breathing, shortness of breath, abnormal heartbeats, or lightheadedness. Individuals are urged to consult with their doctors if these symptoms appear.
Within a few weeks of infection, many people with mild cases of COVID-19 can typically be back to their normal fitness routines, says Anthony S. Lubinsky, MD, clinical associate professor at New York University Grossman School of Medicine. But slow and steady is the key to getting there.
COVID-19 has affected millions of people. With time and guidance, most people who contracted COVID-19 can return to their pre-illness levels of physical activity.

Parents told that their son and his wife are swingers

Wed, 08/11/2021 - 8:40am

By Jeanne Phillips, ©United Features Syndicate

DEAR ABBY: My son and his wife have been living with us for 2½ years so they can save for a house. Recently, my best friend told me that a mutual acquaintance spotted a picture of my son and his wife on a swinger website. At first I discounted it. Then I started noticing they were going out every Friday and Saturday night. My daughter-in-law was usually dressed provocatively, and they wouldn’t get home until around 5 or 5:30 a.m. My husband and I are both Christians. Neither of us feel comfortable about the situation. What do you recommend we do?
INCREDULOUS IN TEXAS

DEAR INCREDULOUS: Your son and his wife are adults. You can’t force them to live according to your religious beliefs. But neither do you have to give tacit consent and foster their living a life you do not approve of by turning a blind eye. Check the website for yourself. If what you heard is the gospel, it may be time your adult children made other living arrangements.

DEAR ABBY: My friend “Lois” is in her 70s. She met a man on a dating site several years ago. I warned her he was a romance scammer, but she kept talking to him. She even sent him a few hundred dollars. Since then, she talks to more than one stranger who I’m pretty sure are scammers as well.
Lois lives on Social Security, but sometimes comes into small windfalls from a stimulus or the sale of items. I suspect she’s sending them money, too. She has been in a relationship with a man she lives with for several years. When I asked her how she would like it if he were doing the same thing, Lois told me she would stop. Now I see she is friends with three or four more strange men on Facebook! I don’t know them, but they sometimes “like” things I post. (I will have to change my settings so that strangers can’t see my posts.)
What’s wrong with her? Does she like to pretend she is rich? They keep sending friend requests to me and my sister. Of course, we don’t accept them. We have warned Lois about this, yet she continues to do the same thing. What can I do?
SEEING CLEARLY IN GEORGIA

DEAR SEEING CLEARLY: Lois is an adult. You have warned her that what she’s doing is a mistake. It may be a waste of her money, but you can’t control her behavior, so accept that fact and live your own life accordingly.

DEAR ABBY: My friend’s mom has been sick lately. She’s on oxygen and has a portable oxygen concentrator. I am also on oxygen. Would it be rude of me to ask for her mom’s portable concentrator after she passes?
PRACTICAL IN CALIFORNIA

DEAR PRACTICAL: To ask that question could be perceived as extremely insensitive. Attempt it only if you have the skills of a diplomat.
***
To receive a collection of Abby’s most memorable — and most frequently requested — poems and essays, send your name and mailing address, plus check or money order for $8 to: Dear Abby — Keepers Booklet, P.O. Box 447, Mount Morris, IL 61054-0447.

THEIRING JEROME CHARLES

Wed, 08/11/2021 - 8:07am

THEIRING JEROME CHARLES
Theiring Jerome Charles, 53, a native of Morgan City, La., passed away peacefully on Friday July 30, 2021 at 2:25 a.m.
Visitation will be observed on Thursday, August 12, 2021 from 12 noon until funeral services at 2 p.m. at Jones Funeral Home 715 Sixth Street Morgan City, La. 70380. (All visitors are asked to adhere to the CDC-local regulations by wearing masks and practicing social distancing). Funeral Services will be accessible by viewing the Jones Funeral Home Facebook page on Thursday August 12, 2021 at 2 p.m.
Memories of Theiring will forever remain in hearts of his children, Shaqita (fiance’, Deron) Thomas of Shreveport, La., Jeremy (fiance’, Latoya) James of GA, and Jaterrel Butler of Morgan City, La.; his mother, Constance Marie Roberson of Morgan City, La.; siblings, Elliott Broussard of Morgan City, La., Jerry (Leticia) Charles, Jr. of Patterson, La., Eric (Cokeisha) Roberson of Houston, TX, Glen Jones of Lafayette, La., and Charles Jones of Morgan City, La.; paternal aunt, Margaret Gibson, seven grandchildren and a host of nieces, nephews, other relatives and dear friends.
Theiring was preceded in death by his father, Jerry Charles Sr.; sister, Tonya Charles; paternal grandparents, Harold and Louisiana Charles and maternal grandparents, Roland and Mercedes Broussard.
Arrangements entrusted to Jones Funeral Home of Morgan City-Franklin-Jeanerette and Houma. Please visit; www.jones-funeral-home.com to send condolences to family.

UPDATED: Latest on tropical disturbance approaching Gulf

Tue, 08/10/2021 - 9:22pm

Potential Tropical Cyclone Six Discussion Number 5...Corrected
NWS National Hurricane Center Miami FL AL062021
500 PM AST Tue Aug 10 2021

Corrected speed of motion in second paragraph.

Satellite imagery this afternoon continues to show that the
disturbance has an organized convective pattern, with satellite
intensity estimates of tropical-storm strength from SAB and TAFB.
However, the circulation still appears to not be well defined, with
the San Juan WSR-88D Doppler radar showing multiple mid-level
centers and several convective cells with small-scale rotation.
Based on this, the system will not be upgraded to a tropical cyclone
at this time. The initial intensity remains 30 kt based on mainly
on continuity from earlier data. It should be noted that squalls
with short-lived winds to tropical-storm force have been reported in
bands over the northern Leeward Islands.

The initial motion remains west-northwestward or 295/15 kt. A
strong low- to mid-level ridge to the north should steer the system
generally west-northwestward for the next 72 h with some decrease in
forward speed after 24 h. Beyond that time, a turn toward the
northwest with an further decrease in forward speed is likely while
the system moves near the western periphery of the ridge. There
has been some increase in the spread of the track guidance from
72-120 h, with the GFS shifting to the right and the other models
not changing very much. The new NHC forecast track has only minor
changes from the previous one and lies near the various consensus
models.

Conditions continue to appear favorable for strengthening before the
system reaches Hispaniola in about 18 h, although there may be dry
air entraining into the system in the southeastern quadrant. The
intensity forecast will follow the previous prediction in calling
for the disturbance to become a tropical storm before landfall,
followed by weakening to a depression. From 24-60 h, the models
have come into better agreement that the system will encounter
westerly vertical wind shear, and based on that and the possibility
of land interaction the intensity forecast shows little
re-intensification during that time. After 60 h, the models still
disagree on the evolution of the upper-level winds near the system,
but they are in better agreement that conditions over the eastern
Gulf will become more conducive for development. Thus, the
intensity forecast calls for intensification during that time. The
new intensity forecast is almost the same as the previous one.

KEY MESSAGES:

1. The system is forecast to become a tropical storm as it moves
over the northeastern Caribbean Sea tonight. Tropical storm
conditions are expected in portions of the U.S. Virgin Islands and
Puerto Rico tonight, and are expected to begin in the Dominican
Republic by Wednesday. Tropical storm conditions are possible in
northern Haiti and the southeastern Bahamas by late Wednesday.

2. Heavy rainfall could lead to flash, urban, and small stream
flooding, along with possible rapid river rises and the potential
for mudslides across the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and the
Dominican Republic. The greatest threat for flooding impacts will
be across the eastern and southern portions of Puerto Rico.

3. There is a risk of wind and rainfall impacts elsewhere in
portions of Hispaniola, the Bahamas, and Cuba during the next
several days, although the forecast is more uncertain than usual
since the system is still in its formative stage. Interests in these
areas should monitor the system's progress and updates to the
forecast.

4. There is a risk of wind and rainfall impacts in portions of
Florida beginning Friday through the weekend. However, given the
uncertainty in the long-range forecast it is too soon to determine
the timing, location, and magnitude of any potential impacts.
Interests in Florida should monitor updates to the forecast.

FORECAST POSITIONS AND MAX WINDS

INIT 10/2100Z 16.9N 65.5W 30 KT 35 MPH...POTENTIAL TROP CYCLONE
12H 11/0600Z 17.8N 67.8W 35 KT 40 MPH...TROPICAL CYCLONE
24H 11/1800Z 19.0N 70.4W 35 KT 40 MPH...INLAND
36H 12/0600Z 20.2N 72.8W 30 KT 35 MPH...OVER WATER
48H 12/1800Z 21.2N 75.0W 30 KT 35 MPH
60H 13/0600Z 22.1N 77.2W 35 KT 40 MPH
72H 13/1800Z 23.1N 79.1W 35 KT 40 MPH
96H 14/1800Z 25.5N 82.5W 40 KT 45 MPH
120H 15/1800Z 28.5N 84.5W 50 KT 60 MPH

Appeals court deals a blow to lawsuits against energy companies

Tue, 08/10/2021 - 1:15pm

By WILLIAM PATRICK, The Center Square

A federal appeals court has dealt a blow to proponents of dozens of environmental lawsuits aimed at oil and gas compa-nies that have operated in Louisiana.
The state and six coastal parishes have filed 42 law-suits against 200 fossil fuel companies since 2013 over coastal erosion and wetland loss, with some allegations dating back as far as World War II.
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of oil-and-gas defendants in two lead coastal land loss cases, saying they should be re-examined in federal district court since they involve operations that were federally overseen at the time.
The ruling reverses a pre-vious decision that allowed the cases to be heard in state court, which the plaintiffs had sought.
The decision is significant because trial lawyers tend to prefer state courts because of the dynamics involved in electing judges, according to Louisiana Lawsuit Abuse Watch. Federal judges are appointed and, therefore, not subject to local elec-tions.
Louisiana Oil & Gas Association President Mike Moncla applauded the decision.
“Since the beginning of the coastal litigation process, the oil and gas industry in Louisiana has been on the decline. These frivolous lawsuits have hurt jobs, bankrupted marine service companies and operators, and have decimated the state’s tax revenue it receives from energy production,” Moncla said in a statement.
Louisiana is a major energy producer, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. It ranks in the top five states for natural gas production and proved reserves, while operating 17 oil refineries accounting for nearly one-fifth of the na-tion’s refining capacity.
The Institute for Energy Research cites Louisiana as the nation’s fourth-largest producer of oil and electricity rates 28% below the national average.
The industry’s success, however, comes at the expense of unique coastal wetlands, according to lawsuit plaintiffs.
Together, they argue companies such as BP America Production Company, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Exxon Mobil Corporation and Shell failed to follow state law when drilling wells, disposing waste and dredging canals, among other activities.
If successful, the high-stakes lawsuits could cost the companies billions of dollars.
In the meantime, Daniel Erspamer, chief executive officer of the New Orleans-based Pelican Institute, said the barrage of legal actions is costing the Louisiana economy.
A Pelican Institute study found the dozens of coastal lawsuits have cost the state $44 million to $113 million each year since they were filed. At least 2,000 jobs were affected over the first two-year period alone, the study said.
“Our state government shouldn’t be in the business of suing job creators, particularly considering the fact that these lawsuits kill jobs without guaranteeing funding will go towards coastal restoration efforts,” Erspamer said.

Tropical disturbance makes its way toward Gulf

Tue, 08/10/2021 - 1:00pm

From the National Weather Service:

At 1000 AM, the disturbance was centered near latitude 16.3 North, longitude 63.8 West. The system is moving toward the west-northwest near 18 mph and this general motion is expected to continue during the next few days. On the forecast track, the disturbance is expected to pass near or over the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico later today and tonight, be near or over Hispaniola on Wednesday, and be near the southeastern Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands Thursday.

Reports from a NOAA Hurricane Hunter aircraft indicate that maximum sustained winds are near 35 mph with higher gusts. However, the aircraft did not find a well-defined closed circulation. Gradual strengthening is forecast during the next day or so and the disturbance is expected to become a tropical storm later today or tonight. Some weakening is likely while the system interacts with Hispaniola on Wednesday. The estimated minimum central pressure is 1012 mb (29.89 inches).

Dredges converge on Port of Morgan City with hopes of open channel this fall

Tue, 08/10/2021 - 12:51pm

BILL DECKER

bdecker@daily-review.com

November, the traditional month of thanksgiving, could be extra special this year for the Port of Morgan City. By extension, that could mean bounty for the local economy.
The Harbor & Terminal District Commission, which operates the port, heard Monday that four dredges will be operating at the same time this fall. Their goal will be to have the port’s main channel at its authorized dimensions of 20 feet deep and 400 feet wide in time for a November ribbon-cutting.
After six years of high-water events dumped sediment into the key waterways, limiting access for large ships, a clear channel could bring back vessels big enough to engage in import and export commerce. And that could mean tens of thousands of dollars for the local economy each time a ship pulls in.
“It looks like we’ll be open all the way to the dock for the first time in a long time,” Tim Connell, a civil engineer and project manager with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in New Orleans, told the commissioners Monday.
In the Bar Channel, between Eugene Island and the sea buoy, the Brice Civil Constructors dredge Arulaq will continue to use an agitation process to remove sticky “fluff” mud.
The Arulaq, working at the port on a contract that has paid $14 million so far, is in the shipyard for repairs. When it’s back to work ,it will be joined by the Manson Construction dredge Newport, which will work on firming up the channel dimensions.
Closer to the port, the Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co.’s dredge Alaska is beginning its work again under an existing $20 million contract. Weeks Marine Co.’s dredge Borinquen is scheduled to start work in September.
“In another month we will have four dredges in the area,” port Executive Director Raymond “Mac” Wade said. “That’s the most ever.”
Dock work
Port officials are hoping to have an expanded dock for the vessels that make their way up the channel.
Plans for the $26 million expansion to the east of the existing dock have been split into two phases, said Michael Knobloch of Knobloch Professional Services.
The first phase would cost $18 million. The port has applied for a Port Priority Program grant from the state Department of Transportation and Development, which would pay for 80% of the work.
Knobloch is expecting to learn this week whether the grant will be approved.
If the state grant application gets the OK, some of the money could be used as the local match for a federal grant under the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity Program.
That grant would go toward the $8 million cost of the second phase.
The port’s application for an unrelated grant from the Port Security Grant Program was denied, Knobloch said.
The port had hoped to use $430,000 in grant funding for cybersecurity and other projects.
Offshore
moratorium
The port board unanimously passed a resolution calling on President Joseph Biden and Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland to allow oil and gas lease sales on the Outer Continental Shelf.
Biden issued an executive order in January blocking as many lease sales as practical as a way to combat climate change. In March, the Biden administration canceled a proposed 78 million-acre lease auction.
The resolution passed by the commission cites a June ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Terry Doughty of the Western District of Louisiana. Doughty, who issued a temporary order against suspension of existing lease schedules.
The ruling came in response to a lawsuit filed by 12 oil-producing states, including Louisiana.
The resolution also said the industry has played an important role in the national economy and has taken steps to reduce carbon emissions linked by scientists to climate change.
More vessels
Vessel transits through area waterways were up 16.7% in July, Lt. Hayley Gipson reported.

A tougher grid: Cleco puts up storm-hardened transmission line

Tue, 08/10/2021 - 12:46pm

Staff Report

Cleco is working on the last link in a $300 million, decade-long project designed to make the region’s electrical grid stronger and more resistant to hurricanes.
Massive steel transmission towers that soar over conventional wooden utility poles are showing up from west of Franklin, near the Gulf Craft and Metal Shark shipyards, to near Garden City. They’ll eventually carry power from a new substation in Baldwin to Bayou Vista.
The first phase of the project carries electricity from Iberia Parish to Baldwin. Another phase, completed in 2019, constructed a similarly storm-hardened transmission line between Amelia and Bayou Vista.
The Baldwin-Bayou Vista stretch, as with the Amelia-Bayou Vista section, is designed to withstand wind of up to 120 mph, said Doug Gates, Cleco’s distribution and transmission engineer on the most recent part of the project.
Most of the tubular transmission poles are 80-110 feet tall. Some of the poles that cross waterways are 130-140 feet high.
When the poles are erected, the metal bars that extend parallel to the earth have pulleys attached. The pulleys will be used to hoist the transmission lines in place.
Glass insulators also hang from the poles. The insulators are big ones.
The Baldwin substation is designed for 230 kilovolts, handling about twice the voltage of a normal substation.
One major feature of the new line is that it doesn't replace an existing line. Gates said it represents new capacity.
The Amelia-Bayou Vista portion of the project covered 12 miles and crossed four waterways. Most of the 101 poles required for that section were also 80-110 feet high, but crossing the Atchafalaya River required poles 239 feet high, according to a Cleco news release. And the bases for some of the poles weighed 26 tons.
“This project is unique as the line crosses four major waterways, meaning we’re relying extensively on helicopters and marsh equipment to get our work done,” said Lance Speer, Cleco senior engineer and construction manager for Amelia-Bayou Vista project, in a Cleco press release. “Included in that terrain are two islands, Avoca Island and Bateman Island, which have no road access.”
Across the country, an upgraded, more resilient and more advanced electrical grid has become a national priority.
Congress made the nation’s electricity distribution system the target of modernization with Title XIII of the Energy Security and Independence Act in 2007.
Congress later allocated $8 billion for improvements to the system. The Cleco project was not funded by the federal government.
“Our electric infrastructure is aging and it is being pushed to do more than it was originally designed to do,” the U.S. Department of Energy says on its website. “Modernizing the grid to make it ‘smarter’ and more resilient through the use of cutting-edge technologies, equipment, and controls that communicate and work together to deliver electricity more reliably and efficiently can greatly reduce the frequency and duration of power outages, reduce storm impacts, and restore service faster when outages occur.
“Consumers can better manage their own energy consumption and costs because they have easier access to their own data. Utilities also benefit from a modernized grid, including improved security, reduced peak loads, increased integration of renewables, and lower operational costs.”

Another 100 COVID cases Tuesday in St. Mary

Tue, 08/10/2021 - 12:41pm

Another 100 COVID-19 cases were reported in St. Mary Parish for the 24 hours ending at midday Tuesday.
Those cases, reported by the Louisiana Office of Public Health, raise the pandemic total here to 6,911.
No deaths were reported Tuesday, leaving the pandemic toll at 155.
Statewide, 6,088 new cases were reported Tuesday along with 93 deaths.
The number of COVID patients in Louisiana hospitals rose by 139 to 2,859.

Ochsner
Ochsner Health, which operates Ochsner St. Mary in Morgan City, now has 1,008 COVID-19 patients in its hospitals in Louisiana and Mississippi, according to the company’s Facebook page.
“On Aug. 1, we had 787 patients, a 28% increase in one week,” Ochsner said.
The average age for hospitalized COVID patients at Ochsner is 55 for adults and 6 years old for pediatric patients.
Ochsner urged people to get COVID vaccinations. You can find a community vaccine event near you: ochsner.org/vaccineinfo

School
Dr. Teresa Bagwell, superintendent of St. Mary schools, responded to a Facebook comment that said a whole class at an unnamed parish school had been quarantined.
“There are students in quarantine at different schools across the district but there is no entire class in quarantine at any of our schools right now,” Bagwell wrote in an email. “Some of the students who may have been positive cases before school started have not attended school as yet as they are in quarantine.
“We have a systematic approach once we are informed of a positive case (student, teacher, or staff member) to identify anyone considered as a ‘close contact’ and then inform the Office of Public Health for guidance on quarantining the right individuals.
“Additionally, any time there is a positive case reported at any school, parents will receive a J-text message from the school as a courtesy message informing them of the case and we personally contact parents whose child is considered a ‘close contact’ and must test and possibly have to quarantine depending on vaccination status or result of the testing.”

Children
Dr. Mark Kline of Children’s Hospital in New Orleans continues to warn parents about the spread of COVID among young people.
Kline told WDSU in New Orleans that the percentage of tests returning positive results for the hospital’s pediatric outpatients grew from 1% last month to 7% two weeks ago to 20% Monday.
A quarter of children diagnosed with COVID-19 at the hospital have been admitted to the intensive care unit. One is 7 months old.
“It is heartbreaking honestly to take care of potentially dying children,” Kline told WDSU. “All of this was likely unnecessary if we as adults did what we needed to do and get the vaccine. We could have protected these children.”

Mike the Tiger
LSU mascot Mike VII, a real-life tiger, got his second COVID-19 vaccine shot Monday, the university reported.
The vaccination was more than a publicity stunt in a state where the vaccination rate is below 50%. The virus that causes COVID-19 showed up last year in the big cats at the Bronx Zoo, the university said.

CHARLES PERCY 'C.P.' ORTIS

Tue, 08/10/2021 - 12:28pm

Charles Percy “C.P.” Ortis, 68, a resident of Gibson, passed away Friday, August 6, 2021.
C.P. was born August 3, 1953, in Morgan City, the son of Percy Pierre Ortis and Bernice Pearce Ortis.
C.P. loved being in the outdoors; he enjoyed boating, camping and hunting. He loved animals, especially his dog, Ilsa.
He will be sadly missed and lovingly remembered by his son, Christopher “Chris” Ortis of Morgan City; daughter, Serena Ortis Lynn of Destrehan, LA; brother, Avery Ortis and wife LaFon of Morgan City; two sisters, Lorena Beadle of Ponchatula and Gail Hebert of Berwick; two grandchildren, Carmen Lynn and Jackson Engel; numerous nieces and nephews.
C.P. was preceded in death by his parents, Percy and Bernice Ortis; son-in-law, Jason Lynn; brother-in-law, Kennon Beadle.
Graveside services will be held at 10:00 a.m., Wednesday, August 11, 2021 at Morgan City Cemetery with Father Mike Tran officiating.

An incorrect picture originally appeared with this obituary. The correct picture is in place.