COVID-19 numbers increasing the fastest in Louisiana, Gov. Edwards says

BATON ROUGE – Louisiana now has the highest growth in COVID-19 cases per capita in the country, Gov. John Bel Edwards said in a Friday afternoon press conference, and he pleaded with the people of the state to get vaccinated to protect themselves from sickness and death.

While the state’s vaccine lottery campaign has helped boost vaccination numbers, much higher vaccination rates are needed to stem the surging Delta transmission rates. Only around 40% of Louisianians are currently vaccinated or in the process of vaccination.

Louisiana State Health Officer Dr. Joseph Kanter said at the news conference that the statewide average of daily COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents has jumped 208% the last 14 days.Since Monday, the state has counted 16,898 new positive cases of COVID-19, more than 80% of them cases caused by the Delta variant of the novel coronavirus.

“This really is the perfect storm,” Edwards said. “The conditions are rife for catastrophic outcomes for far too many individuals.”

Read more: https://lailluminator.com/2021/07/23/covid-19-numbers-increasing-the-fastest-in-louisiana-gov-edwards-says-cases-have-jumped-208-in-2-weeks/