Slow, limited testing makes Lafayette’s coronavirus data murky
On Monday, Lafayette reported an 800% increase in confirmed cases from a week ago. But that jump doesn’t necessarily tell us very much.
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Christiaan Mader
Christiaan Mader founded The Current in 2018, reviving the brand from a short-lived culture magazine he created for Lafayette publisher INDMedia. An award-winning investigative and culture journalist, Christiaan’s work as a writer and reporter has appeared in The New York Times, Vice, Offbeat, Gambit, and The Advocate.
First coronavirus deaths in Acadiana announced, more confirmations to come
Lafayette, St. Martin and Acadia parishes have confirmed coronavirus fatalities.
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The House approved the sweeping measure by a voice vote, as strong majorities of both parties lined up behind the most colossal economic relief bill in the nation’s history. It will ship payments of up to $1,200 to millions of Americans, bolster unemployment benefits, offer loans, grants and tax breaks to businesses large and small and flush billions more to states, local governments and the nation’s all but overwhelmed health care system.
Three St. Martin Parish residents are the first in Acadiana to lose their lives in connection to the coronavirus pandemic.
Source: Three dead in St. Martin Parish from coronavirus | Coronavirus | theadvocate.com
A Breaux Bridge man has died from complications due to coronavirus. It’s the first COVID-19 death in Acadiana.
Source: Coronavirus: Breaux Bridge man dies from COVID-19; first Acadiana death
Louisiana is planning to put more than 1,100 beds in the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center to ease the strain on New Orleans area hospitals.
The move, which will see 120 beds in the convention center by the end of this weekend, is the linchpin of a plan to boost the number of hospital beds, health care workers, ventilators, protective equipment and other resources available in Louisiana.
Pressed into unprecedented duty, schools wrestle with how to feed Louisiana’s children during a pandemic
At least 32 Louisiana school districts will no longer hand out grab-and-go food boxes to school-age children from school distribution sites, a large chunk of the state’s school-based food supply chain.
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Coronavirus lockdowns and high anxiety: Has teletherapy’s moment arrived?
State regs and cultural aversion warded some counselors away from teletherapy. COVID-19 is changing that.
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The Louisiana lab is able to test 200 to 250 samples per day and can turn around results in about three days. So far, about 40 percent of the samples tested at the facility have come back positive for COVID-19, according to the Office of Public Health. That’s much higher than the overall positive rate for tests in the state, which stood at 16% as of Tuesday.
Source: This is how coronavirus testing works at Louisiana’s state-run lab | Coronavirus | nola.com
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Louisiana grew faster in the first 14 days than anywhere else in the world, data shows. That includes Spain and Italy, which have produced nightmarish scenes as hospitals have become overrun.
What does ‘essential’ mean, anyway?
Most essential jobs are what you would expect. Healthcare and first responders, pharmacists, law enforcement, air traffic controllers and grocery store employees probably come to mind.
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Community spread of coronavirus confirmed in Lafayette
We still don’t really know the extent of COVID-19’s presence in Lafayette. As Lafayette catches up on testing, it’s likely we’ll see many more cases.
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