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On April 3, St. Mary Parish Hospital Service District No. 2 donated pulled pork from Castalano's for all Ochsner St. Mary employees to show their appreciation to the hospital staff. Pictured is Fernis LeBlanc, Ochsner St. Mary CEO.

Harvard University epidemiologists are warning that eradicating COVID-19 from the United States may take a lot longer than anyone wants to hear. As Louisiana broke above the milestone of over 1,000 Coronavirus deaths this week, Science magazine published the findings of Harvard researchers who summarized that Americans could see recurring COVID outbreaks as far out as the year 2024.

“The total incidence of COVID-19 illness over the next five years will depend critically upon whether or not it enters into regular circulation after the initial pandemic wave,” the report hypothesized, “which in turn depends primarily upon the duration of immunity that SARS-CoV-2 infection imparts.” (The full report can be found online at: https://science.sciencemag.org/content/early/2020/04/14/science.abb5793....)

But researchers warned that relaxing social distancing now could backfire. They proposed some form of social distancing may be required for two years.

“Less effective one-time distancing efforts may result in a prolonged single-peak epidemic,” the epidemiology team stated, “with the extent of strain on the healthcare system and the required duration of distancing depending on the effectiveness. Intermittent distancing may be required into 2022 unless critical care capacity is increased substantially or a treatment or vaccine becomes available. The authors are aware that prolonged distancing, even if intermittent, is likely to have profoundly negative economic, social, and educational consequences. Our goal in modeling such policies is not to endorse them but to identify likely trajectories of the epidemic under alternative approaches, identify complementary interventions such as expanding ICU capacity and identifying treatments to reduce ICU demand, and to spur innovative ideas to expand the list of options to bring the pandemic under long-term control.”

Louisiana Congressman and Republican Whip Steve Scalise, who spent three months in critical care and surgeries after a would-be assassin shot him in 2017, said the Catch-22 is balancing safety with saving the economy.

“Through social distancing, we’ve seen we can reduce the spread of the disease but we also know you can’t keep the economy closed for 6 months or to 2024. There won’t be an economy left,” Scalise told reporters at Thursday’s daily press briefing in Baton Rouge. He was invited to attend by Democratic Governor John Bel Edwards.

“Do we want to see 25% unemployment?” Scalise asked. “That’s not where we want to go so we’ve got to be smarter about it. It’s not a question of whether the disease is going away. Just like the flu comes back every season, we expect it [COVID-19] is going to boomerang back in the fall sometime. So you’ve got to take those precautions now.”

Governor Edwards added, “We have not had discussions with Vice President Mike Pence or the President or any conversations about the Harvard study. But I’m sure that as these studies come out, they will inform the CDC [Center for Disease Control] in terms of the guidance they give us.”

Louisiana’s Department of Health conducted its own study to model infection rates based on three scenarios not using drug therapies: a “no lockdown restriction” baseline, which purported to spike last week; one using “social distancing” alone; and finally a lockdown “shelter in place” scenario that spans into summer. Naturally, the projection curves of infections and hospitalizations flatten and are much less severe as more people stay home and out of circulation. Dr. Alex Billioux, Louisiana’s Assistant Secretary of Health, said the clampdown has worked to choke the spread of Coronavirus even though Louisiana ranks fourth in the nation in the number of deaths per capita.

Governor Edwards, using LDH’s projections and working with Don Pierson, Secretary of Louisiana Economic Development, Thursday announced the creation of “Resilient Louisiana Commission,” a state commission charged with ramping up policies for how and when to restart the state’s economy. The 18-member panel includes Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser and will be co-chaired by Pierson and health care leader Terrie Sterling, a Baton Rouge consultant and retired Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System executive.

In particular, scenarios for crowd control are being studied, looking beyond summer to football season just four months away.

Congressman Scalise told reporters the sports economy is paramount especially in Louisiana. “You can imagine the NFL, the NBA, and sports organizations are all having conversations about how can you have large gatherings? That’s their business model,” he said. “They’ve got very smart people, as we speak, working on really good ways to come back while safely allowing people to go back into a sports arena to watch the Saints play, to watch LSU play. We’re all talking to each other. Everybody’s got really good ideas on how to do it but the real remedy is to get the economy opened back up as soon as we possibly can in a safe way.”

St. Mary Excel, a 501c(6) organization, exists to promote economic development for educational and cultural advancement. At this time of need, we offer the following letter to broaden the perspectives of educational emergency response.
Across the country, Americans are feeling the effects of this pandemic emergency. How will St. Mary Parish emerge as a community? Will we be stronger for it? We can identify and support the essential workers around us- but how will we care for them when the threat subsides?
The one thread that holds us together is our educational system.
On April 15, 2020, the governor indicated that schools will not be closed— just that students will not be going back to campus. The governor’s statement makes a school board plan very important for the nine weeks of instruction that St. Mary Parish students will miss.
We know that St. Mary Parish’s talented teachers remain ready to guide online learning. Private schools in the area have done so and, surely if asked, are ready to share best practices.
St. Mary Parish Schools could plan to direct learning from home by:
—Conducting an inventory of internet availability across the parish
—Finding out an exact number of students with no computers in the home
—Identifying the computers in the system available to lend to students
—Appropriate training of teachers on online methods and resources
—Utilizing the internet academic courses currently being used in parish
—Developing a future plan to insure food and nutrition needs of students
—Developing a plan to address the needs of special needs students
—Developing a plan to provide additional assistance to students with particular learning issues
—Insuring adequate communication methods which would insure that all parents are contacted and have opportunities for input
Let’s hope at this time of unprecedented challenges that our school system once again rises to the needs of St. Mary Parish students and ensures that all of our children and their families are supported during the economic crisis.
We hope the system finds ways to utilize the many new opportunities available through federal government emergency funds to consolidate our strengths and eliminate our weaknesses.
After all, our social distancing will not end the spread of the virus and we need to be ready if, in
August, the virus resurrects through a second round of community infection. Let’s all pull together!
St. Mary Excel

BATON ROUGE — As the coronavirus spreads around the globe, scientists are learning more about who is most vulnerable to this new respiratory illness.
Many patients who become seriously sick or die have comorbidities, meaning they simultaneously have at least one other chronic health condition. This is a major concern in Louisiana, which has high rates of obesity, diabetes and hypertension, also known as high blood pressure, according to the LSU AgCenter.
This serves as reminder of how important it is to eat healthfully — including moderating one’s sodium intake, which affects blood pressure, said Mandy Armentor, a registered dietitian and area nutrition agent with the LSU AgCenter.
With many people staying at home and cooking more of their own meals, now is a good time to establish healthier eating habits, she recommended.
High blood pressure is defined by the American Heart Association as having blood pressure readings over 120/80 mmHg when checked consistently over time by a healthcare provider, Armentor said.
“Hypertension is referred to as the ‘silent killer’ because people don’t really know they have it until they go to their healthcare provider for another reason,” she said. “There are no obvious signs or symptoms of hypertension in adults.”
People can manage hypertension by eating a diet low in fat and sodium, being physically active and, if it has been prescribed, taking blood pressure medicine, Armentor said.
“Even during these times, it is important for residents to take care of themselves, eat a healthy diet from all food groups and watch their salt intake,” she said. “Try to limit intake of overly processed foods and junk food, get regular exercise and take their prescribed medications to ensure they stay as healthy as possible and prevent any further health complications.”
Armentor offers these tips for cutting salt consumption:
—Do not add salt to a pot of water when cooking rice or pasta.
—Drain and rinse canned meats, vegetables and beans to help lower the sodium content.
—Try to reduce the salt measurement by one-fourth to one-half in your favorite recipes.
—Go slow on your processed meats such as deli ham and sausage. If possible, try to incorporate the lower-sodium version of these into your meal planning and recipes.
—Go easy on the Creole and Cajun seasonings. Salt is the main ingredient of many of these products. You also can try to find lower-sodium or no-salt versions of your favorite seasonings.
—Be spicy instead of salty. Try to season foods with little to no salt and more spices and herbs.
—When eating boiled seafood, be mindful of condiments and seasonings, which often contain a lot of sodium.
—Increase your intake of fruits and vegetables. Try not to salt them when you prepare and eat them.
—Try to eat and purchase foods with between 35 and 140 milligrams of sodium per serving. Check the nutrition facts labels.
—Limit fried foods and those served with heavy sauces. These tend to be higher in sodium content. Try to eat these foods only occasionally.
—Moderate your alcohol intake. Limit yourself to one drink per day for women and two per day for men.
—Don’t forget to be physically active. Take walks, play with your children, dance and do sports. Physical activity is good for helping lower your blood pressure when combined with healthy eating.