New Orleans Health Director advises on “short term” indoor masking amid a surge in COVID-19

New Orleans (WVUE)-Dr. Jennifer Avegno, City Health Director, called for a “short term” of universal indoor masking in public spaces to prevent the proliferation of COVID-19 infections detected in New Orleans. rice field.

Abegno said on Tuesday (May 17th) that recent test results could be a wave of serious summer illnesses that could overwhelm hospitals, similar to what happened with the epidemic of the delta mutation last summer. He said he was deeply concerned about sex.

“Wearing a high-quality mask has proven to significantly reduce the risk of viral infection,” said Avegno. “So it’s highly recommended to return to universal and wide indoor masking in public, wherever we are at the tip or in the middle of this surge.

“If we, as a community, can re-adopt short-term but widespread indoor masking, we can quickly return to a state where we don’t need masks …. I would like to emphasize, but this is not mandatory. However, the more people do this, the more it will determine how long and how long it will stay, the number of people who get sick, and the degree of business disruption. Short-term wear will quickly bring it back. “

Increased cases have been detected in both on-site test results reported to the city and state health departments and in wastewater tests, which Abegno said show increased infections in hospitality and residential areas of New Orleans. I did.

“In Orleans Parish, as of (Monday), the average number of cases per day was 155, which is about five times as many as a month ago,” she said. “We are still doing a lot of PCR tests and they are reported, but we are aware that most people are using home tests. Therefore, the total number of cases is true of the disease. We know that we greatly underestimate the burden of.

“It is clear that the virus is widespread …. Fortunately, the hospital’s capacity has not yet been strained.”

“The City of New Orleans remains vigilant in responding to COVID-19 and is taking the necessary steps to prevent a new surge in high levels of infection in our city,” LaToya said. Mayor Cantrell said.

“As recommended by Dr. Jennifer Avegno, who guided us through the ongoing pandemic from day one, wearing a mask indoors, washing hands, vaccination, boosting, and taking a test when you feel sick It will continue to be the most effective tool for COVID-19. These measures have helped to mitigate the increase in infectious diseases we are currently seeing and have been experienced over the past few years. The pandemic is not over yet. We will continue to follow the guidelines set by the Ministry of Health and the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention. We are urging you to take advantage of it, “Cantrell said in a statement Tuesday afternoon.

Avegno said, “I think we have time” to stay ahead of the big summer surge. But she renews protection when enough people are vaccinated and booster shots are needed, and festivals, graduation ceremonies, spring weddings, and crayfish boil.

“We’re going back to the basics: testing, masking, vaccination, and treatment,” said Abegno, a treatment that wasn’t yet available in the summer of the last two years of the pandemic.

“Testing early and often is what I tell everyone in this surge. If you are exposed, and if many of us are recently exposed, test as soon as you know the exposure. And test it in a few days.

“If you start to have any symptoms such as runny nose, sneezing, coughing, fever, body aches, really tired, stomach problems, COVID can come in many forms, so take that test. The sooner you know if you are infected, the fewer people will be infected. “

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