LDH: COVID-19 hospitalizations have doubled amid Omicron surge

FILE – A nurse prepares a dose of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to be injected at the Andras Josa Teaching Hospital in Nyiregyhaza, Hungary, Jan. 24, 2021. As coronavirus infections and deaths soar in Hungary, the country’s journalists and public health professionals are demanding more detailed data on the outbreak from the government, with some experts saying that greater transparency might boost lagging vaccination rates. (Attila Balazs/MTI via AP, File)

by: Trinity Velazquez

Posted: Dec 26, 2021 / 05:30 PM AST

Updated: Dec 26, 2021 / 07:55 PM AST

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BATON ROUGE, La (BRPROUD) — Louisiana Department of Health says that the number of people that have been hospitalized due to COVID-19 has doubled this past week.

449 people are now hospitalized. LDH says the last time a large number of people were hospitalized was in the middle of October. 80 percent of the current hospitalizations are unvaccinated individuals.

“A total of 9,545 new COVID-19 cases out of 59,139 new tests have been reported to the state since December 23,” an official LDH press release said. “The testing data do not include results from at-home tests. The Louisiana Department of Health will resume updating the COVID-19 dashboard on Monday, December 27.”

LDH says that 9,545 new COVID-19 cases out of 59,139 tests have been reported to the state since Thursday.

LDH officials urge Louisianians to take safety precautions ahead of New Year’s Eve on Friday by recommending COVID-19 testing for any patients who are experiencing symptoms such as fever, cough or shortness of breath. Find testing information here.

For a list of locations, click here.