Today is the one-year anniversary of the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in Louisiana. Chief of Infectious Diseases at LSU Health New Orleans Dr. Julio Figueroa says looking back, COVID was likely spreading in February 2020.
“My colleagues in retrospect go well there was that patient who was really, really sick and was in the ICU for a long time period of time, could that be a patient with COVID,” said Figueroa.
Now that we know the main route of transmission is through respiratory droplets that spread when you are in close contact with a carrier, carnival season only enabled the virus to circulate faster in Louisiana.
“I think in retrospect what was thought to have occurred was that we had that prior Mardi Gras season that probably accentuated the transmission locally,” said Figueroa.
Five days later after the first case was confirmed, the state reported its first death from the virus a 58-year-old man in Orleans Parish.
Governor John Bel Edwards will mark the one-year anniversary of the first COVID case by expanding vaccine eligibility to anyone over 16 who suffers from certain health conditions. A press conference is set for noon Tuesday.
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