Oh, this is a huge problem, but at least in Louisiana, there's not going to be any going back to business as usual any time soon.
At the time, Louisiana had 91 confirmed cases of coronavirus. A week later, Louisiana health officials confirmed 837 cases and 20 deaths.
“That’s a 10-time increase in seven days,” Gov. John Bel Edwards said in a press conference on March 22.
Health experts and local doctors interviewed by VICE blame the severity of COVID-19 in New Orleans on Mardi Gras, which took place February 25. During the celebration, approximately
1.4 million local and international visitors descended on the city.
Kenneth and other emergency department nurses and doctors said their hospitals are at or close to capacity. Because health care infrastructure is sized to meet the population—393,000 people live in Orleans Parish—New Orleans’ soaring caseload could easily overwhelm an already strained system. Right now, doctors are sending home patients who should be in the hospital.
"The hospitalist service has not wanted to admit 'stable' patients with [both COVID-19 and comorbidities like] diabetes," said Michael. "Normally, I'd be screaming that they should be admitted. But the people I admitted [with COVID-19] were sicker.”
In Louisiana, COVID-19 is spreading faster than it has anywhere else in the world. The state is home to some of the nation's sickest and poorest people, and health care professionals fear the virus will overwhelm emergency resources in as soon as a week.
www.vice.com
In about a week, LA will be where Italy is now. We're not only following their trend; we're outpacing it.