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Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr Joseph Kanter said Tuesday morning that he believes the state should consider more aggressive mitigation measures if the increase in coronavirus cases does not slow over the next two weeks.
Kanter made his comments in a COVID-19 update to the Louisiana Board of Regents, which held a special meeting to endorse anti-sexual harassment policies on campuses.
He said that, until Monday night, Louisiana was the national leader in new cases of the virus until it was passed by Florida.
“The number is really shocking,” he told the regents.
Kanter said the positivity rate for COVID-19 cases is 15.4%, the highest since April 2020.
Hospitalizations for COVID-19 in Louisiana reached new highs over the weekend, as the number of new infections caused by the virus …
He said state health officials will announce on Tuesday that hospitalizations total 2,720, 650 to 700 more patients than the previous record during the winter outbreak of the virus.
Kanter said the lack of necessary staff in hospitals creates “a truly dire situation” and elective procedures are being delayed, although this can have consequences for patients later.
He also said he couldn’t say when the case rate would peak.
Kanter said data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows Louisiana is only a quarter of the way to its peak during the fourth wave of the virus, but other data is less dire.
“I will say that if we do not reach the peak within a week or two, it will be a catastrophic situation for the hospitals,” he said. “There’s just no way to keep it going.”
“I would expect more aggressive mitigation measures to be considered if we don’t reach a peak within a week or two,” Kanter said.
On August 2, Gov. John Bel Edwards said he was re-imposing a mandatory indoor face mask mandate until at least September 1.
Another mitigation measure that could be considered includes renewing restrictions on restaurants, bars and other sites.
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