St. Tammany experiences highest single-day COVID peak since January

ST. TAMMANY PARISH, Louisiana – Doctors at Northshore warn that we are currently on the path to a fourth increase in COVID-19 cases. Health officials joined St. Tammany Parish officials on Wednesday in urging unvaccinated people to get vaccinated.

St. Tammany Parish has its highest single-day COVID case count since January, with 201 confirmed cases reported since Tuesday.

“We are on the verge of reaching a fourth peak in cases,” Parish President Mike Cooper said.

St. Tammany Parish has a 42 percent vaccination rate.

“If people were to die en masse from these vaccines, we would know. People are dying from this pandemic, ”St. Tammany Coroner Dr. Charles Preston told those scared of the vaccine.

Preston is warning people not to listen to anti-vaccination misinformation videos posted on social media.

“They were very worrying because these are very well done videos with people who seem trustworthy, who give a factual basis and quickly turn into total fantasy. These videos, this disinformation, are extremely dangerous,” he said. declared.

RELATED: St. Tammany Coroner Calls Anti-Vaccine Videos “Dangerous”

Dr Michael Hill of St. Tammany Hospital said hospitalizations for COVID have doubled in the past two weeks.

“It’s mostly in the unvaccinated. Sometimes there are people who have been vaccinated who can get the disease, but it’s usually milder. We’ve seen a big demographic shift in young people and I think it needs to be highlighted. .Just because you are under 50, that doesn’t mean you can’t get sick and very sick, ”Dr Hill said.

“The best way to help these healthcare professionals is to get vaccinated,” said Dr Timothy Riddell, Ochsner Northshore Regional Medical Director.

For now, the parish will not implement any new mandate.

“That’s not to say it’s not an issue in the future,” Cooper said.

St. Tammany Parish’s positivity rate over the past week was 11.9%.