Omicron surge tops Delta; no peak in sight
The Omicron variant of COVID-19 continues its record-setting march through Louisiana, but Gov. John Bel Edwards said he is not ready to reinstate any mitigation measures.
“I am not intending, as I stand here today, to institute any mandates,” Edwards said Thursday during his first pandemic press conference of 2022.
Omicron is now the dominant coronavirus strain in Louisiana, accounting for over 90% of the current confirmed cases as of Jan. 1, according to the Louisiana Department of Health.
That figure is probably higher now, Edwards said.
On Thursday, Louisiana set a new singleday pandemic record for new cases at 14,007. The COVID positivity rate is now 27%, almost triple the rate from a week ago.
“We have not ever, ever had as much COVID circulating in the state as we’re seeing today,” Dr Joe Kanter, Louisiana’s chief health officer, said.
The peak isn’t in sight. “We’ve not yet seen signs that it’s slowing,” Kanter said.
Omicron has beaten last summer’s Delta variant surge in almost every category. Though the Omicron strain is generally less dangerous than any of the previous COVID strains, it’s also two to four times more contagious.
Natural immunities that may have been provided by other strains also “don’t seem to hold up very well” against Omicron, Edwards said.
Both he and Kanter said anyone with symptoms that mirror those of COVID-19 should presume they have the virus.
Kanter urged Louisianans with COVID-like symptoms to refrain from going to already overloaded hospital emergency rooms just to get a COVID test. Instead, he suggested a self-test or visiting other testing locations.
Earlier this week, Ruston’s Northern Louisiana Medical Center reported a continued uptick in patients coming to the ER with COVID symptoms. A hospital spokesperson said most of the patients are given treatment and sent home.
COVID cases in Lincoln Parish continue to climb in numbers not seen since the Delta surge. From Wednesday to Thursday, 31 more local cases were confirmed for a pandemic total of 5,054, LDH shows.
The parish went over the 5,000-case mark on Wednesday. The parish has seen 76 new cases since Jan. 1
Probable cases are climbing at a high rate, with 105 new suspected cases from Wednesday to Thursday and 200 so far this month.
