Cautious sigh of relief as Opelousas General treats lowest number of COVID patients since the start of the pandemic
OPELOUSAS, La. (KLFY) -- Louisiana is seeing some light at the end of the tunnel in the fight against COVID-19.
Administrator for Opelousas General Tim Marks says it has been an up and down battle with COVID but things are trending in the right direction.
"It hit hard, very quickly," continues Marks.
The ebbs and flows of the COVID-19 pandemic was visible inside the walls of Opelousas General Health System.
Marks explains, "Starting March- April 2020, we saw around 20 patients during our peak, 22% on ventilators. July 2020, we saw 25 patients during that peak, 16% on ventilators. During the 3rd surge, we saw about 30 patients, 20% on ventilators."
He tells News Ten the hospital adapted through the first three phases of the raging pandemic but says the Delta variant brought new challenges.
"Right around July in-patient population doubled overnight, within a week it tripled, another week it quadrupled. It rose to 45 patients," Marks add.
He says the downward trend finally came in September.
Currently, the hospital has only one COVID positive patient in house.
Mark says, "With that being said, we are cautious of things. We are still seeing positive cases in the community, 25% of ER visits are still COVID related cases."