NEW ORLEANS — U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams said he anticipates New Orleans is “due for a New York type week next week” as Louisiana braces for a potential flood of COVID-19 patients.
Dr. Adams made the comments during a Friday morning radio interview with WBT 1100AM.
“It got really bad in New York,” Dr. Adams said. “We see places like Detroit, like Chicago and like New Orleans who are due for a New York type week next week. And so, we are preparing for that from a federal level. We’re deploying resources so that we can help them get through it.”
The state of New York, which has nearly five times the population of Louisiana, reported 16,383 new cases and 271 deaths from COVID-19 this week. As of Thursday, there have been more than 37,200 positive cases and 385 deaths in the state.
Dr. Adams told CBS News This Morning Friday that New York has seen a slowing down of the number of cases due to aggressive mitigation strategies. Adams again reiterated the importance of social distancing and avoiding unnecessary travel so the healthcare capacity is not overwhelmed on a national level.
"We also see hotspots like Detroit, like Chicago, like New Orleans that will have a worse week next week than what they had this week," Dr. Adams said.
Adams echoed similar warnings from Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards who has said hospitals in the New Orleans area could run out of ventilators by April 2.
“Now, more than ever, we need the people of Louisiana to stay home, stop the spread and save lives,” Edwards shared on Twitter Friday.
As of Thursday, the Louisiana Department of Health reports that Louisiana has 2,749 ventilators across the state, including 650 in the region that includes New Orleans, Jefferson, St. Bernard and Plaquemines parishes. Edwards along with other health officials are racing to increase available hospital beds and ventilators before an expected spike in cases.
Louisiana has reported more than 2,7,46 cases and 119 deaths as of Friday. More than 770 patients have been hospitalized across the state with the coronavirus disease, and 270 of those patients need ventilators.
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