Acadiana hospitals are nearing capacity despite a drop in coronavirus patients; Here's why

After weeks of improving numbers, Acadiana hospitals have seen another uptick in patients over the past few days — likely not because of coronavirus but because of Hurricane Laura.

Hospitals in the Louisiana Department of Health's Region 4, which include seven Acadiana parishes, on Tuesday had just 110 patients being treated for COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.

That's a significant drop from mid-August when there were 192 coronavirus inpatients at area hospitals. Regional coronavirus hospitalizations peaked at 304 on July 22. Tuesday's hospital census was even lower than the spring peak of 125 on April 10.

Even with fewer coronavirus patients, however, Acadiana hospitals have been nearing capacity in recent days.

Read more: https://www.theadvocate.com/acadiana/news/coronavirus/article_76f31b40-ec8e-11ea-a3c6-67eafbb048e2.html