Covid-19 News

As of today, LDH has updated the methodology used to assign cases and tests to the best known locations. This new methodology allows us to account for patients who have been tested more than once and may have moved at some point during this public health emergency.

Amends the provisions governing the Adult Day Health Care Waiver, the Community Choices Waiver, and Long-Term Personal Care Services throughout the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) public health emergency declaration, and clarifies that the Home and Community-Based Services waiver provisions which correspond to Louisiana's section 1915(c) Appendix K waiver will remain in effect for the duration of the Emergency Rules published in the April 20, 2020 edition of the Louisiana Register or until the Appendix K waiver termination date of January 26, 2021, whichever is later.

The test site is moving next week to a new location in Lake Charles, in the 700 block of Dora Street. From East Prien Lake Road, take Kirkman Street North, then turn left at Dora Street and follow the signage for where to enter and exit the test site.

"Early on, our elected leaders made difficult decisions to cancel public events, order aggressive but necessary social distancing measures, and issue calls for the public to stay at home to limit the virus’s spread. Most notably, the people of the greater New Orleans area heeded those calls. ... By embracing these recommendations, we were able to flatten the curve and keep hospitals from becoming overwhelmed," Dr. Kanter writes of the greater New Orleans region.

Next week, COVID-19 mobile testing for Region 5 is moving to a new location in Lake Charles. Community testing is available Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to noon.   

The parish health units will be following social distancing guidelines and scheduling appointments for these back-to-school events. Vaccines will be available over a two-week period, from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. August 24 to September 4.

Throughout next week, mobile testing for Region 5 will continue at the Lake Charles Civic Center from 8 a.m. until noon from Monday, August 17 to Friday, August 21

In this Q&A blog series, our regional public health leaders will be answering many of the same questions, and together they will paint a statewide perspective of the COVID-19 pandemic and their communities' response. Dr. Tina Stefanski is the regional medical director for Region 4, which includes the parishes of Acadia, Evangeline, Iberia, Lafayette, St. Landry, St. Martin and Vermilion.

"Changing behavior is hard. We have a very friendly, outgoing culture here in Acadiana. The idea of social distancing is very new for all of us, but it is such a critically important piece to slowing down transmission, flattening the curve and, ultimately, saving lives," Dr. Stefanski writes of Acadiana.

MIS-C is a serious health condition in young people less than 21 years of age where different body organs can become inflamed and fail. These include the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes or gastrointestinal organs.