Louisiana is experiencing the biggest surge of coronavirus cases since the start of the pandemic, and the Houma-Thibodaux area is no exception.
Dr. Chip Riggins, regional administrator of the Louisiana Department of Health, attributes the sharp rise in COVID-19 cases to holiday gatherings.
“There were 65 cases per 100,000 people reported on Jan. 2 and the peak of the first wave was 29 cases per day for 100,000,” he said. “So right now we’re experiencing double the number of cases per day in the community than we saw in the first wave.”
The second surge in coronavirus cases to strike Terrebonne and Lafourche over the summer averaged 47 cases per day, Riggins said.
“I think we’re seeing what epidemiologists and experts have been predicting about the mathematical consequences of dropping our guard at the point in time when there was a snowball effect during the holidays,” he said. “Unfortunately the disease was so prevalent going into the holidays. We knew if people got together and didn’t stay in their bubbles during that period of time we would see a lot of spread.”
As a result, the area is experiencing its sharpest spike in cases in months, Riggins said.
“What we’re looking at now is clearly the worst wave since the beginning of the pandemic,” he said. “In order to flatten the curve with 65 new cases per day we need people who tested positive to isolate, wear a mask, socially distance and participate in contact tracing. If they do nothing each case can lead to three to four more new cases. That’s why this curve keeps going up.”
Hospital capacity
As of Monday area hospitals were treating 105 coronavirus patients, Riggins said.
According to the Department of Health, Terrebonne General Medical Center in Houma had 40 beds available and 172 beds occupied. Thibodaux Regional Medical Center had 29 beds available and 128 were in use.
There were 32 beds available out of 90 at Lenoard J. Chabert Medical Center in Houma and 26 out of 60 beds available at Ochsner St. Anne in Raceland.
“We’re really a part of the New Orleans and Baton Rouge health care region,” Riggins said. “So our region always appears vulnerable because we are dependent on the ability to refer some of our cases to New Orleans, Baton Rouge and Lafayette. So, we keep an eye on the bed status of our neighboring regions to make sure that our hospitals are able to maintain their typical patterns.”
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On Thursday, Terrebonne and Lafourche added 93 new cases combined and four new deaths, health officials said. Cases in Terrebonne rose by 48 to 6,278 and Lafourche added 45 cases for a total of 5,886. So far the virus has infected 320,462 people in Louisiana and claimed the lives of 7,631.
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Until the vaccine can be readily available to everyone, Riggins urged residents to take the virus seriously by keeping a distance, avoiding gatherings, wearing face coverings in public and staying home as much as possible.
“We need to take a safe route to herd immunity,” he said. “Our hospitals cannot survive the unsafe route. A vaccine’s immunity will not result in our hospitals being overrun with COVID patients. The access to the vaccine is growing very rapidly. Our hospitals are actively reaching out to persons over 70 and are doing tremendous work.”
--Staff Writer Dan Copp can be reached at 448-7639 or at dan.copp@houmatoday.com. Follow him on Twitter @DanVCopp.
The Link LonkJanuary 15, 2021 at 07:00PM
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Health director: Holiday gatherings fueling recent coronavirus surge - Houma Courier
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