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SPECIAL TO

L’OBSERVATEUR

 

LAPLACE — COVID- 19 infections continued at a low stable rate in St. John Parish in October despite a widespread increase in cases in 44 states across the U.S.

St. John Parish recorded 67 cases of new infections in October, compared to 73 cases in September and 188 cases in August. Deaths from COVID-19 in October were seven, compared to five in September and seven in August. The State of Louisiana also continues to have a stable low rate of infections and deaths despite increases in surrounding states.

I want to commend the people of St. John Parish for following the state guidelines for wearing masks and practicing social distancing while increasing our public activities. This has enabled us to keep the COVID-19 infection rate at low levels along with a relatively low death rate. We will need to continue these measures for the foreseeable future, as it appears the COVID-19 virus is not going away and continues to strike when people let their guard down.

As the flu season approaches, the measures we are following for COVID-19 prevention should also help in preventing the spread of Influenza. Flu vaccination rates are running ahead of last year, which hopefully will result in a milder flu season.

Continue to Mask Up, St. John! The single most important thing we can do to control this epidemic is to wear a mask in public at all times.

Scientific research has proved this beyond a doubt: wearing a mask reduces the amount of virus that is spread by an infected person by 40 percent. A contact of an infected person reduces his own exposure by 40 percent with a mask on. Thus, wearing masks can reduce 80 percent of the virus load and reduce the severity of disease in infected people.

Let’s close 2020 on a strong note of prevention and look forward to a healthier year in 2021.