Health

Louisiana hospitals are reporting a sharp spike in children made seriously ill by COVID-19 as the omicron surge continues to gather steam, but officials said it’s too soon to tell how severe the surge will end up being for kids.

More people are recognizing the need to take care of their mental health amid the pandemic. One sign of this: calls to help hotlines have skyrocketed.

The Louisiana Department of Health reported 9,290 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, marking the continuation of a weeks-long trend that has seen case numbers and hospitalization rise sharply as the omicron variant spreads across the state and the country.

Demand for COVID-19 tests is soaring in Louisiana amid the omicron surge, leading to longer wait times, shortages of rapid tests and forcing state officials to compete with other states on the open market.

As COVID-19 case numbers soar in Louisiana and across the country, here are some resources for tracking down a COVID-19 test.

As the number of omicron variant cases rises in Louisiana, the state department of health issued new guidance Tuesday strongly recommending that all people — regardless of vaccination status — wear masks indoors and get tested for COVID-19 regularly during upcoming holiday celebrations.

State Attorney General Jeff Landry and Rep. Raymond Crews are suing Gov. John Bel Edwards over the inclusion of COVID-19 vaccines in Louisiana’s list of immunizations required for attendance at K-12 schools, universities and daycares, Landry announced Tuesday.

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards is moving forward with a Louisiana Department of Health plan to add COVID-19 vaccinations to the list of required immunizations for Louisiana school children, overriding the Republican-controlled state legislative committee that voted against the rule last week.

Here is the latest information on the omicron variant and COVID cases in Louisiana.

Three more probable COVID-19 cases of the omicron variant have been identified in Louisiana, the Louisiana Department of Health (LDH) said in a press release Wednesday. Along with one confirmed case, the total of omicron cases in the state is now at four.