Louisiana COVID hospitalizations double to nearly 450 in one week

NEW ORLEANS — COVID-19 hospitalizations have doubled in one week as the Omicron variant has been spiking, according to the Louisiana Department of Health. LDH reported Sunday, 449 people are hospitalized with COVID. Eighty percent of people hospitalized are not fully vaccinated, according to LDH.

9,545 people have tested positive for COVID in Louisiana out of 59,139 tests since December 23. That data does not include at-home tests. For the week ending on December 18, LDH estimates 84.6 percent of COVID cases were the Omicron variant.

"The holidays, people are doing their parties and all that and it spreads like wildfire," said Aimee Coulon, Nurse Practitioner with Doctors Urgent Care in Slidell.

Health care workers are seeing a high demand for COVID testing. Doctors Urgent Care in Slidell had to stop accepting new patients Sunday by 11 a.m. because there were so many waiting to be seen.

"When I first pulled in, our parking lot was completely full on both sides," Coulon said.

Coulon said in early December she was seeing a couple of positive COVID cases a week. Now, she sees about 20 a day.

"Every day, vaccinated and unvaccinated," she said.

Emerging data shows the Omicron variant is more transmissible than previous strains and may carry an increased risk of reinfection, LDH reported. Data also shows symptoms may be milder.

"The difference mainly is that people are just not as sick as they were," Coulon said.

With so many people getting together for the holidays, Coulon and other health care workers expect COVID cases to climb into the new year.

"I definitely see it surging all the way through January," Coulon said. "If you're not feeling well, stay home. If you're waking up and coughing with a fever, you probably shouldn’t go to work or that party that night."

The Louisiana Department of Health is urging the public to wear masks indoors in public spaces, in private spaces with people who are not in your immediate household, and outdoors when not social distancing. LDH is also asking people to work remotely if feasible, limit exposure to individuals outside your household, and get tested for COVID before and after traveling. LDH recommends testing one or two days before travel and three to five days after travel.