BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) — The Louisiana Department of Health (LDH) warns of a COVID-19 surge in unvaccinated and not fully vaccinated individuals.
The state is seeing an increase in cases — 200 new COVID-19 cases have been reported since May 19, according to LDH. Additionally, out of these cases, 94% were individuals not fully vaccinated.
“On July 13, LDH announced 9 additional COVID-19 deaths; all individuals were unvaccinated,” the health department said in a news release.
LDH reaffirms the following guidance for individuals in Louisiana:
- If you are not yet fully vaccinated you should mask and distance in public settings and particularly indoors, for your safety and for the safety of those around you.
- If you are fully vaccinated you have very good, but not absolute protection. Your risk, while relatively small, will increase as the amount of COVID-19 circulating in your community increases. Masking and distancing particularly when indoors will increase your safety should you desire extra protection.
- If you are at increased risk for complications of COVID-19 by virtue of advanced age or underlying medical condition or have a member of your household family unit who is, LDH strongly recommends you consider masking and distancing when indoors and/or in close proximity to others for added protection.
“The data are very clear,” said Dr. Joseph Kanter, Louisiana’s State Health Officer. “COVID-19 cases among unvaccinated people in Louisiana are surging. COVID-19 hospitalizations, percent positivity and COVID-19 outbreaks are all on the rise. All people in Louisiana, especially those who are not yet vaccinated, should know they are now at increased risk of exposure to COVID-19 due to the more transmissible Delta variant, and they should consider their personal risk and their family’s risk.”
LDH says COVID indicators continue to worsen, data reports:
- The number of new cases diagnosed each day has been increasing for the past 28 days and is now increasing in all nine regions of the state.
- The number of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 throughout Louisiana has been increasing for the past 12 days, with nearly 200 additional hospitalized patients added during that time, as of today’s reporting.
- The statewide average daily number of cases per 100,000 residents has increased 167% over the past 14 days.
- Statewide percent positivity of new COVID-19 tests conducted is now 6.3% and has been increasing for the past four 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.
LDH officials urge residents to get vaccinated. For more information on vaccines, visit covidvaccine.la.gov.