Sharp increase in Omicron cases across Louisiana

BATON ROUGE — The Louisiana Department of Health (LDH) estimates the proportion of Omicron cases in our state is 88.5% for the week ending Dec. 25.*
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates the proportion of Omicron in HHS Region 6 (which includes Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas) is 86.7%. Furthermore, 95% of parishes are at the 2 highest levels of community transmission.
*NOTE: LDH’s estimate for the Omicron proportion is preliminary and subject to change as more sequencing data are reported.

LDH Guidance
COVID-19 cases, emergency department visits and hospitalizations are sharply increasing throughout Louisiana. These alarming increases are attributable to the Omicron variant, which spreads faster than other variants and is now the dominant strain in our state.
Individuals not fully vaccinated account for 64% of new cases from December 16 through December 22. Furthermore, those not fully vaccinated account for 79% of COVID-19 hospitalizations on December 28.
LDH recommends getting vaccinated and boosted, masking indoors as well as outside when distancing is not possible, and limiting your exposure to those not in your household.
To learn about vaccination sites near you, call Louisiana's vaccine hotline at 855-453-0774. For a list of locations near you, visit https://ldh.la.gov/covidvaccine or text your ZIP code to GETVAX (438829) in English or VACUNA (822862) in Spanish.