Record High COVID-19 Hospitalizations In Louisiana

Louisiana is on pace to set a record during this pandemic for the most people hospitalized for COVID-19 as the delta variant runs wild across the state.

Governor Edwards had this to say in his statewide COVID-19 press conference yesterday:

There are no signs on the horizon that things are about to flatten in terms of case growth and so forth and start coming down, so I hope the people across the state of Louisiana will let that sink in just a bit. We are the worst in the country in terms of this COVID surge, and that is because of this delta variant, which is a game-changer, and the fact that quite frankly not enough people have been vaccinated in the state of Louisiana.

Edwards reinstated a temporary mask mandate for Louisiana as well. All residents and travelers in the state's borders must wear a mask indoors and outdoors from age 5 and older.

Louisiana and Florida are the hardest hit in the nation from the delta variant. Hospitals are being overrun with patients and some don't have any room for others needing treatment.

Today the Louisiana Department of Health reported that 2,112 patients, 89% unvaccinated residents, were already hospitalized for COVID-19. State hospitals are having to sideline non-emergency surgeries and treatments to try and keep up with the demand of their COVID patients. Louisiana is already experiencing a nurse shortage and this new spike in cases is straining hospitals across the state to their limits.