Virus safety measures urged

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St. Landry Parish President Jessie Bellard urged the public to wear masks, social-distance and avoid large gatherings in the face of a spike in COVID-19 cases.
The positivity test rate in the parish jumped from 4.6% to 6.6% in the week ending Nov. 4, he reported.
Total coronavirus cases in the parish as of the Monday news conference were 4,165 and deaths were at 142 from when the virus was tracked in March.
The updated numbers on Wednesday from the Louisiana Department of Health state the St. Landry Parish positivity rate jumped to 11%. The parish’s case rose to 4,410 and deaths to 146.
In the state, 2,239 cases were reported and 28 deaths.
“So those numbers are increasing. We’ve seen a spike in the last couple of weeks and we are trying to stop this from happening,” Bellard said.
St. Landry Parish School Superintendent Patrick Jenkins said of the positivity rate, “We definitely want to keep it below that 10% mark.”
Jenkins said, “Help us be able to continue to educate children face-to-face...”
Jenkins attributed the rise in the infection rate to community spread.
“Within our community we are having a lot of social gatherings,” he said. Those include homecoming events not associated with the school district.
“We are also having parties, house parties, large gatherings that are happening and, of course, hopefully those things don’t happen during our Thanksgiving break,” he said.
Jenkins pointed to a fractured football season where even one positive coronavirus case can mean a canceled game.
A positive case leads to students and staff facing quarantine time, he said.
“If you have one positive case you literally could have multiple staff members that have had close contact with someone positive,” he said
Jenkins said most of the cases have been in the high schools.
Eunice High School recently had to suspend classes for two weeks and return to virtual learning because of coronavirus cases.
Like Bellard, Jenkins urged people to wear mask, social distance and limit the size of social gatherings. He also urged the people to get flu shots.
“If we don’t take these necessary steps and contain this increase it may lead to our students returning back to virtual learning and no one wants that,” he said.
Opelousas Mayor Julius Alsandor also urged the public to practice mitigating measures against the coronavirus.
State Rep. Dustin Miller, a nurse practitioner, said citizens have spoke strongly that they want the economy to reopen, but that will depend on the public adopting the mitigation measures such as mask-wearing and social-distancing.
Gov. John Bel Edwards has extended the state’s Phase 3 restrictions that include a mask mandate and social gathering limits.
Miller said he is beginning to see flu cases and there have two people who returned to his office with COVID-19 after having the disease in June.
Richard LeBouef, St. Landry Parish Solid Waste Commission executive director, said Hurricane Delta debris removal has been suspended for up to 10 days because five Waste Connection personnel contracted the coronavirus.
Waste Connections is not sending replacement employees to the parish because of the positivity rate, he said
On Friday, St. Landry Parish Clerk of Court Charles Jagneaux announced his office on the second floor of the Eunice Municipal Complex was closing until Nov. 30 due to a coronavirus outbreak in the building.
Jagneaux said, “I have decided to close the Eunice branch office until it is safe to reopen it because of the COVID pandemic. Also, the citizens of Eunice should be warned that unsafe practices lead to continuing the spread of the virus. They should wear masks and practice social distancing.”
A statement from Kevin Frank, CEO Of Acadian Medical Center, reported “Acadian Medical Center has seen an increase in COVID-19 cases in our community. In order to keep our community, patients, and staff safe, our current restricted visitor policy remains in place, as well as continuing to require that all patients, staff, visitors and physicians must be screened upon entering our hospital and must wear masks at all times when in our facility. Our processes and procedures remain in place today and always for infection prevention to decrease the spread of illness.
“We strongly encourage our community to remain diligent and follow CDC guidelines in making sure you wear a mask, wash hands often and social distance when out and about. These efforts are in place to help ensure public health safety for all.”