NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – We’ve had weeks of declining COVID-19 circumstances and our statewide ranges are the bottom we’ve seen in the course of the pandemic, however there are some early warning indicators we’d see one other bump quickly.
There’s been a gentle rise in circumstances. 193 in New Orleans during the last seven days, up from 87 the seven days earlier than that.
“Our circumstances have been at their lowest ranges because the starting of the pandemic they usually stay low, so we’re in a reasonably good place to climate what the surge could or is probably not,” New Orleans Well being Director, Dr. Jennifer Avegno stated.
One of many different clues that trace at a coming bump is our wastewater. The CDC stories an almost 700-percent improve in COVID ranges in New Orleans wastewater over the previous two weeks.
“Wastewater is the canary within the coal mine,” Avengo stated. “Usually, you’re going to see the virus going up or down within the wastewater earlier than you’re going to get these check outcomes, usually, by a few week or so, after which the check outcomes usually are out forward of hospitalizations by about two or three weeks.”
Avegno says the wastewater degree was excessive earlier than mardi gras after which dropped off during the last month, however now it’s now going again up.
That dip in circumstances additionally result in a lower in testing and the supply of public testing.
“The opposite problem that’s associated to testing is that dwelling checks additionally aren’t essentially reported to the state, so we don’t have that surveillance piece so as to add to the numbers,” LSU Well being Chief of Infectious Illnesses, Julio Figueroa stated. “We don’t know the way excessive it’s going to go. Is there going to be like the present wave that we simply went by? Is it going to be considerably lower than that? We do know that the BA.2 variant, which is the one which’s probably right here in New Orleans, the one which’s been within the Northeast, is much more contagious than Omicron.”
However, it’s not essentially a purpose to panic.
“We are able to additionally look to the Northeast as what are probably future as once more, they’ve additionally seen an increase in circumstances however they began like us from a really low degree and luckily their hospitalizations usually are not actually seeing a spike,” Avegno stated.
Louisiana’s dying price and hospitalizations are nonetheless very low, particularly over at LCMC.
“Single digits. That is among the greatest numbers we’ve really had all through your entire pandemic, since March of 2020, so we’ll take that as a win,” Dr. Jeffrey Elder stated.
These well being officers additionally say on condition that we’ve got such a excessive degree of vaccination and boosters in addition to lots of people getting Omicron during the last three months, we’ve got plenty of constructed up immunity that might assist forestall us from getting actually sick and our hospitals getting actually overwhelmed like earlier than.
See a spelling or grammar error in our story? Click Here to report it. Please embrace the headline.
Copyright 2022 WVUE. All rights reserved.
