COVID-19 Cases in Southeast Louisiana Quadruple in Two Weeks

In the past two weeks, COVID-19 hospitalizations in one part of Louisiana have nearly quadrupled. COVID-19 cases continue to climb in southeast Louisiana.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is now warning Americans that some coronavirus variants that are popping up, are more contagious and more severe than we've seen since the start of the pandemic.

The original coronavirus has mutated and there are now two variants that are very concerning to healthcare professionals. One variant is alpha, the other delta. These are more powerful mutations that are more contagious than the original version of the coronavirus. Healthcare professionals believe these variants will cause more hospitalizations as they are more transmissible, especially variant delta.

There is a new variant called lambda. The World Health Organization (WHO) has designated this new variant as a "variant of interest".

COVID-19 cases are rising in Louisiana, in particular in southeast Louisiana.

The Louisiana Department of Health reports 1,936 COVID-19 cases reported to the state since July 13, 2021. The total number of cases reported to the state is 492,840. Of these cases, 1,312 are confirmed cases. -Louisiana Department of Health