Mayor Walker out of hospital, recovering from home
Ruston Mayor Ronny Walker is now at home recovering from COVID-19.
Walker was released from Northern Louisiana Medical Center around midday Wednesday. He’d been hospitalized since Saturday.
“I feel much better but will be taking it easy for the next few days,” Walker said in a statement released through City Hall. “I want to personally thank my incredible team of doctors, nurses and staff at Northern Louisiana Medical Center. We are so fortunate to have such a good medical facility in our city.”
“Furthermore, Kay (Walker’s wife) and I truly appreciate your thoughts, prayers and well wishes as we continue to recover,” the mayor said.
The couple’s COVID cases are breakthrough cases; both received the Pfizer vaccine earlier this year.
The mayor tested positive on July 20. Though he was treated with oral antibiotics at home for several days, both he and his wife went to NLMC on Saturday for precautionary X-rays on the advice of their doctor.
The test revealed the mayor had pneumonia. He received IV treatments through Wednesday morning.
Meantime, confirmed cases of COVID-19 continue to climb both statewide and in Lincoln Parish.
The Louisiana Department of Health on Wednesday reported 26 more cases in Lincoln Parish than on Tuesday for a total of 3,634 cases since the count began in March 2020.
Over the past week, 73 new cases have been confirmed among parish residents, according to LDH.
State health officials now list the parish among the highest for community risk. Sixty-two of Louisiana’s 64 parishes are on the list. The COVID positivity rate in Lincoln Parish has jumped more than 230% since July 14 and now stands at 12.3%.
LDH and Gov. John Bel Edwards are urging Louisianans to take immediate precautions for their own and others’ safety.
“To see this current rise in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations is becoming increasingly scary,” Edwards said in a statement released Tuesday afternoon.
The governor has recommended — but not mandated — that both vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals, wear masks while indoors if 6 feet of physical distance cannot be maintained.
