BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) — As students get ready to go to school, parents should be aware of COVID cases increasing across the city.
“What we are seeing is more community infections, meaning there are a lot more reported cases,” said Regional Medical Director of Ochsner Health in Baton Rouge Aldo Russo.
According to the COVID dashboard on the Louisiana Health Department website, cases in the past month have risen. Showing an increase of double amounts for not only adults but also children.
Russo predicts there are actually more cases, and says those having it are having regular symptoms.
“And I have a suspicion that there’s probably more cases around because people are doing at-home testing and they’re not feeling that sick to go to the doctor,” he said.
He also added that COVID cases are also not filling the hospital rooms like in the past.
“Fortunately, we’re not seeing a significant pick up in admissions in the hospital and we’re not seeing the sick patients that we used to see with COVID and in the last three years,” said Russo.
In regards to concerned parents, Russo said although cases have doubled, parents shouldn’t worry but should stay alert to symptoms in their child and others.
“You don’t want to expose your kids to somebody with COVID or get the infection because you know, it will take you out of school. It puts a lot of burden on the family,” he said.
As you prepare your kids for a safe and healthy school year, Russo advises parents to get their children vaccinated, if they aren’t, get a booster shot, get tested if they have COVID symptoms, and continue taking universal precautions like washing their hands.
