The state reports 1,663 new COVID cases today, that’s the lowest new case count since July 20th. Hospitalizations have also dropped to 1,431. Ochsner Chief Medical Officer Doctor Robert Hart credits the mask mandate for the decreases and an increase in vaccinations.
“The timing of the beginning of the decline matches up a couple of weeks I believe after, maybe between two or three weeks, after the mask mandate went into place,” said Hart.
Hart says as bad as the fourth surge has been he believes it made several who were unvaccinated rethink and get the shot.
“We began to increase our vaccinations across the system and across the state and I think people began to take a little more caution,” said Hart.
Hart says the Delta variant which was responsible for the fourth surge reminded those who had become relaxed with COVID mitigation to be more mindful of staying away from others and to mask again.
“Hopefully we can stay on top of this one and not get that fifth surge, but it is going to take everyone going out and getting vaccinated and continuing to be cautious about how they are acting in larger settings,” said Hart.
Ochsner is currently caring for 979 COVID-19 patients, and more than 88% of those patients are unvaccinated.
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