Louisiana reported 407 new coronavirus cases Wednesday and 19 more deaths, bringing the total to 1,795 positive cases and 65 fatalities. Governor John Bel Edwards says the state has yet to flatten the curve.
“This alarming growth has a devastatingly fast impact on our resources and our ability to take care of our people,” said Edwards.
Edwards says the ventilator situation is concerning because many patients already rely on ventilators for other respiratory issues.
“Then you add to that the increasing number of COVID patients who need ventilators, and that is why we are seeing the capacity with respect to ventilators be eroded in a way that quite frankly is alarming,” said Edwards.
The state health department says 163 hospitalized patients are on ventilators and 300 new ventilators are expected to be in New Orleans by early next week, but Edwards is still concerned.
“We know just in Region One that we are still 600 ventilators short, and we have not begun to get to the Baton Rouge, or the Shreveport area, and they are going to need additional ventilators as well,” said Edwards.
46-percent of the coronavirus cases in Louisiana are from Orleans Parish.
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