Facing a surge in COVID 19 infections and a hospital system she described as “crumbling”, Jefferson Parish President Cynthia Lee Sheng lashed out at those choosing not to get vaccinated or wear masks.
“I will never understand why this is such a big deal, when our hospitals are bursting at the seams!” Sheng said.
At a press conference Thursday, Sheng said that, on average, 500 people are being diagnosed with the virus daily. Nearly 600 people are hospitalized in the parish.
Current federal guidelines do not allow for vaccinations for those under 12, and officials are drawing attention to the growing number of children being hospitalized with the virus. As of Thursday afternoon, four of 15 pediatric patients at Children’s Hospital in New Orleans are in intensive care.
She said their “hospitals were crumbling” under the pressure. Ochsner medical director of Global Health Education, Yvens Laborde, said more than 500 staff members were out sick with COVID statewide, further straining the hospital system. Officials have requested help from the National Guard, but said that agency is stretched thin, too.
The parish is reopening a rapid testing and vaccination site at the Alario Center on Monday. The drive-thru testing site and walk-up vaccination site will be open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday.
More than 90 percent of current COVID patients in the state are unvaccinated.
Health care officials said the region has an extremely high transmission rate at nearly 18 percent. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines a rate of ten percent or greater as “high.” The average positivity rate nationally is around 9.5 percent, according to the CDC.
Far more children are getting sick from the delta variant than they did with earlier strains of COVID-19. During the press conference, health care professionals from LCMC and Ochsner urged everyone to wear masks, including toddlers.
Laborde called the situation “dire,” saying, “It’s painful because … it was both predictable and preventable.”
He added, “We’re in the fourth surge and there’s no sign of it slowing down.”
This story has been updated with the latest number of patients at Children's Hospital on Thursday afternoon.
Copyright 2021 WWNO - New Orleans Public Radio