Death rate soars in New Orleans coronavirus 'disaster' that could define city for generations

"You're telling people they have to shelter at home," Morris said. "But many don’t have a place to shelter."

As cases mount, the lack of medical equipment is becoming an alarming issue. Half of the New Orleans area's critical-care beds are already filled with COVID-19 patients and there are just 329 ventilators available out of a total of 650, according to the state health department. At the current rate, the New Orleans area could run out of ventilators by the first week of April, state officials said.

Mayor LaToya Cantrell said Wednesday the city is considering refitting the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center to care for up to 3,000 patients who have tested positive for COVID-19 but don’t require ventilators. The first 120 beds were scheduled to go into the convention center this weekend, Gov. John Bel Edwards said at a press conference on Thursday.

“This would free up space at hospitals for people who are more vulnerable," Cantrell said. "We want to continue to free up beds for people on ventilators."

Meanwhile, people stayed indoors throughout the city while the French Quarter, usually the city's thriving center, sat uncharacteristically quiet and nearly empty.

Brice Miller, a 44-year-old jazz trumpeter and cultural entrepreneur, had gigs booked at weddings, the Spotted Cat bar just outside the French Quarter and other clubs around the city. As the virus took hold, his phone buzzed with cancellations.

He's lost around $30,000 in revenue since the coronavirus emerged in New Orleans, he said.

“This is our high season," Miller said. "It’s the beginning of wedding season, convention season, tourists are flocking in. That’s all gone."

The virus also stole a personal event for him. Miller's father died recently of a heart attack (unrelated to the coronavirus) but area funeral homes won't host the body due to restrictions on large gatherings.

"I can’t say my final goodbye," he said. "I can’t give him a proper send off.”

When the coronavirus closed down Marjie's Grill in New Orleans' Mid-City neighborhood, owner Caitlin Carney and her partner, Marcus Jacobs, turned to cooking meals from the restaurant for those on the outbreak frontlines: healthcare workers in hospitals.

The new venture provides some revenue for the restaurant but mostly makes them feel like they're contributing to the fight against the virus.

“We’re just trying to focus on doing positive things for the community, while being as safe as possible,” Carney said. “Mental health is just as important as physical health in this. For us, working on doing good things helps with our mental health."

It's not the first time New Orleans has faced down a deadly outbreak. In 1853, nearly 8,000 people died in the city during a yellow fever outbreak that roiled across the region.

The city's unsanitary conditions at the time, proximity to swamps and marshes and business leaders downplaying the virus' spread contributed to the deadly epidemic, said historian and author Lawrence Powell.

"For the longest time [New Orleans] was an unsanitary nightmare," he said. "Our conditions were even worse than most."

During this outbreak, city leaders took aggressive measures to contain the virus, though whether they responded quickly enough remains in question. City officials cancelled the popular St. Patrick's Day parade, which draws thousands to the city, and upcoming events like French Quarter Fest and the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival have also been cancelled or postponed.

“Compared with other counties around the country, what we know is that we have one of the highest infection rates behind several counties in New York," New Orleans’ health director Dr. Jennifer Avegno said. "To be clear, that’s partially because we are doing a great amount of testing."

Wuflu has been a boon to New Orleans's rampant crime and deaths, especially by guns. With citizens under mandatory quarantine, deaths in New Orleans have dropped by almost 50% and crime rates by almost 80%.

Are fewer people dying by the virus than would have been killed by New Orleans rampant crime? How ironic.

R3 Going by published crime and death figures, yes. A bit of perspective and proportion on the current situation.

What happened to the idea the virus doesn't like hot, humid climates? Does anyone really know what's going on?

[quote]What happened to the idea the virus doesn't like hot, humid climates?

Yeah, what happened?

But But what about the possibly infected Mardi Gras tourists from other states that returned home?....asymptomatics and all

FUCK FUCK FUCK Piyush "Bobby" Fucking Jindal for shuttering Big Charity Hospital in NOLA and Earl K. Long in Baton Rouge, and defunding Lallie Kemp Hospital in Independence to the point where it's just a dry husk of its former self.

Those three hospitals were the model for charity hospitals, and were famed for turning residents into top-notch doctors. Big Charity was a Level 1 trauma center, and EKL had renowned Labor & Delivery and burn units in addition to its excellent trauma center.

All three hospitals saw the biggest numbers, and direst cases of HIV/AIDS from the scary early years of the crisis. And because they were contracted to treat the state's prison populatio, they were on the front lines when an epidemic of treatment-resistant tuberculosis swept through Louisiana prisons in the mid 80s-early 90s. They had MAJOR experience and expertise in treating infectious disease.

But for reasons political, racist, and just plain greed, successive Republican governors hollowed out its charity hospital system, even going so far as using Katrina and her damage to Big Charity as an excuse for closing it down.

I could go on about those depredations all day, but suffice to say if Louisiana still had a fully funded charity hospital system, it would have access to dozens more hospital beds, ICU beds, respiratory equipment, and incredible infectious disease specialists deployed to combat COVID-19 's rampage throughout the state. And nurses--my God, what fantastic nurses and aides worked at those hospitals; my sister was one of them.

Which is Reason #6358 why I NEVER vote for Republicans.

^^^ They really ARE just plain, bad people, aren't they?

They are, R9.

And so very disheartening.

You're talking about a place where people CHOOSE to live BELOW sea level

Do you realize we spend millions of dollars each year because the Atchafalaya River by now should've captured the Mississippi and change the course, bypassing New Orleans.

We've created a situation in South Louisiana were people are living in millions, where they should not be living at all.

Then disasters like these strike and we all are surprised???

What does living below sea level, have to do with the coronavirus?

Huh, I was not aware New York, Washington, Boston, and California were below sea level.

Thanks for that tidbit, R11!

[quote] Atchafalaya River

The Atcha what?

"Huh, I was not aware New York, Washington, Boston, and California were below sea level."

They will be if climate change isn't addressed.

I’m trying to address it, r15, but I don’t know its zip code.

1/4 don’t have internet?!! Really? Wow.

Most of those are witch doctors, r17.

Precautions put in place to slow the rise of coronavirus cases in New Orleans has inadvertently led to a rat problem for the Louisiana city. With restaurants closed save for take-out service, far less food waste is being discarded in the city's alleyways, driving the local rodent population out into the open to search for scraps.

New Orleans' famous Mardi Gras celebration brought thousands of tourists to the city, and medical experts believe it might be a big factor in the city's COVID-19 outbreak. Now with Bourbon Street's famous bars all closed and people social distancing, videos show dozens of rats scurrying through the empty streets.

"I turn the corner, there's about 30 rats at the corner, feasting on something in the middle of the street," one local restauranteur told CBS News' Omar Villafranca. He said he had "never" seen anything like it before.

To control the population, city crews started putting bait in the gutters and placing rat traps throughout the French Quarter neighborhood. New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell said the rats were going "crazy."

Claudia Regal, head of the local pest control board, expressed concern about the possible infections the rat infestation could spread to the local homeless population.

"There are pathogens in these rodents. Fortunately, we don't see many of the health outcomes. We don't have very many disease cases that are actually related to rodents. But the potential is there," she said during a press conference.

She called it a "difficult time to be a rat" due to the limited availability of food scraps.

Mayor of NOLA on CNN getting real defensive about not cancelling Mardi Gras. “At the time it was confined to Washington state.” Who would have guessed that crowding millions of drunk people into a city would have been a bad idea??

I lived there for about 6 months way back in the mid 80s and while it was an amazing place to party I never really "loved" being there. Even them you knew to not venture out of well lit tourist areas because you assuredly would have been a crime victim. The housing available even in the "nice" areas was run down shitholes . Water pressure was negligible in most places,it stunk like backed up sewers and piss , and you had to be on your guard 24-7 . That being said,I had some wonderful times in that 6 months and my god but it was hot and cold running dick . Picking up a hot drunk college boy was as easy as shooting fish in a barrel . And dont even ask about the bath house. Caligula would have been right at home there!

The power goes out all the time there because the lines are through the trees. A rain or wind can shut down a whole area. I know. The medical system was always backwards, and getting worse. I mean, they are i behind many countries that we would call developing.

What if the levees fail during the pandemic?

"A disaster that could define a generation"" How many disasters have they going to have? It is a banana republic on US soil.

Certainly not me!

Louisiana also has the highest deaths by percent of cases than any other state.

What’s wrong there?

Sawvideos of rats taking over a deserted BOurbon Street.... next Bubonic Plauge.....

Louisiana, where thousands of people ignored instructions and gathered at a single church...

It’s sad but in the end it will be interesting to see what has done more damage to the city. By that I mean hurricane Katrina or this kind of irresponsible socializing. I saw the mayor interviewed on the difficulties in New Orleans and the failure of the federal government to provide leadership. She made excuses about having allowed the Mardi Gras parade to happen. Another politician who is not taking responsibility for a failure in leadership. While I’m unhappy with federal action, she is indicative of the kind of pointing fingers that goes on all too much in this country.

people "choose to live" in New Orleans with all of its issues. therefore they "deserve" to get the Corona and die. they all "chose" to have those stupid politicians as well.

I understand people who go out to work and desperate for money, but these assholes who go out due solely to being selfish fucking assholes, deserve to get this.

[quote] What’s wrong there?

Basically what R22 said.

A Banana Republic on U.S. soil.

is it just New Orleans or is the whole state like this?

GOP-controlled Mississippi is very close by

Hurricane Katrina disaster was really the levees failing. It was a man made failure.

New Orleans is below the river and man made lake. The city is really suppose to be a swamp lands. The water is rising more due to climate change, and the levees are archaic to protect the people who live there.

The medical system cannot support the people who live there. If they shut down Tulane University, then the system could carter to the residents, until they can relocate out of the area. This should be done in an organized way after this pandemic.

New Orleans needs to be closed and reclaimed by the river and swamp. It is better to do this in an organized, planned way than in another crisis.

Hopefully, the levees hold, right now.

[quote] New Orleans needs to be closed and reclaimed by the river and swamp. It is better to do this in an organized, planned way than in another crisis.

No way that will ever happen.

Neither the people, nor the government will ever give up New Orleans. It's over 200 years old, and filled with history.

The only way that New Orleans will fall, is if (as you said) the river reclaims the land.

People will live there until they die.

Does not look like people are able to quarantine there. There are not a lot of grocery stores per person for food and supplies. They may not be able to flatten the curve, the spread of corona Virus there. So still cases, then still need for hospitalizations, after May. Then, they are in hurricane season. During this season, the rain and wind knock out electricity. And many places flood. New Orleans is heading into another seasonal crisis, on top of this epidemic. The flood/hurricane season will make the epidemic worse. And hopefully, the levees hold.

The rate things are going, that won't take long...

There's a lot of elderly in Louisiana, floriduh is next.

I can’t believe that stat about 1/4 of people not having internet. Is that including homeless people, because that’s the only way it makes sense.

Poor New Orleans. This is all just a big horrible mess

And you know Trump/his followers won’t give a fiddlers fart if the whole city goes down

I don't have internet, I cand do pretty much everything including work from my phone.

The whole city is not getting closed or going down anytime soon.

New Orleans is now being gentrified at a steadily increasing rate. This is just another catalyst to make this process faster. The poor residents that held on after Katrina will eventually be driven out by developers looking to buy up cheap land in a historically significant and culturally rich city.

I'll wear my red dress to Nawlin's funeral.

I have no sympathy for people who continue to party and stay physically close to each other thumbing their nose at this pandemic thinking it won't hurt them or believing what Trump and that GOP is saying. My sympathy will lie with the good people who do what they are supposed to do who catch it from them.

I would be happy if all the spring break, toilet bowl and ice cream that is sold to others lickers in this world die from this and happiest of all if Trump and the entire GOP are wiped out by it, but life doesn't work that way. It's usually the evil who survive and the good who die.

"The poor residents that held on after Katrina will eventually be driven out..."

Or die.

Again, I'll ask as someone unfamiliar with LA: Is the whole state this incompetent?

No R45 ,just rotten to the core . Always has been,always will be .

R42 we don't say Nawlins. Do you also say Frisco?

^^^ I say El Lay.

What history?

Did you know, that Cafe du Monde, French Quarter,/NOLA is where they used to sell human beings?

Plantain tours, this is celebrating slave culture?

Start shutting the city down. Help the African-American or Native Americans relocate, with a repatriation bill to assist them. Shut Tulane U, so no more students. Good professors can get a job somewhere else.

FUCK THE RACISTS!

R49 Learn English, then come back and chat

[quote] I say El Lay

He's talking "LA" as in the postal abbreviation for Louisiana. ----> LA.

Hence the term, NOLA. New Orleans, Louisiana.

Nitwit.

Loyola, Xavier, Dillard and University of New Orleans are also in New Orleans, it is not just Tulane. New Orleans was once one of the largest cities in the U.S. Families have lived there for several generations over centuries. Abandoning its most vulnerable residents isn't the answer.

I like the building with the house on top

All these southern cities have had a much more devastating past. During its first generation Charleston SC had a death rate of 30% per year. For a whole generation. New Orleans and Memphis have sometimes beaten that due to yellow fever. Indeed, Memphis was abandoned once. Three hundred years of mainly conservative government have brought this about. Poorly educated people with no skills, no credit, and no new business formation. All thanks to conservative philosophy which rules the land. It is hardly a surprise they live as if there is no tomorrow. Very few of them could even visualize a future.

So the tourists come and treat them like animals in the zoo. Voodoo! Zombies! Code Duello. But the truth is not "Europe in America" it is "El Salvador in America"

And Haiti in America

Louisiana and Florida are going to be a mess. They’re going to have to call out the army sooner rather than later. It’s going to be horrible.

At this point, whatever happens in other states is on THEM. As people on the coasts, we got no real warning from that orange fat fuck who KNEW and could've done something. We were the canaries, so if fucking assholes in predominantly red states who have had warnings based on seeing what's going in NY/CA, do NOTHING, they have no one to blame but themselves - it's called PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY. Something conservatives like to trumpet all of the time.

R22, I live in one of the wealthiest communities in the US and my power goes out 2-3 times a year because the electrical lines aren’t buried and trees take out the lines. When there is a big storm and a lot of trees go down it can take Con Ed days to get power back to everyone. Apparently burying the lines is very expensive. I don’t understand why it should cost more per house than putting in an electric dog fence.

Louisiana has always been incompetently run. Nothing but a bunch of racist bigoted assholes running the government down they're.

I pray for the vulnerable and the poor they're, and everywhere, that they get through this pandemic that was completely preventable.

The US government is shit and corrupted beyond belief.

[quote]Louisiana has always been incompetently run. Nothing but a bunch of racist bigoted assholes running the government

Kind of off topic, but I was watching a repeat episode of LivePD (from last year) and they used to cover a city called Slidell, LA. They had this gorgeous, young cop. He suddenly wasn't so hot when he stopped a black guy who was clearly a bit older than this punk cop who couldn't have been more than 25 and he asked the black guy "Where you stay at, boy?" I was like "HOLY SHIT! What year is this???" And the fact that he felt comfortable enough to say it with a camera filming, made it even more incredible.

r61 In parts of rural Georgia it is just as bad, and the same can be said of Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, Oklahoma, MIssouri, West Virginia and Florida.

R51 Dumb hick. I'm talking El Lay as in slang for Los Angeles (a big town in Calie) Google it .

Hey for-profits, you have to buy medical equipment for hospitals.

[quote] Nothing but a bunch of racist bigoted assholes running the government down they're.

Oh, dear!

[quote]I pray for the vulnerable and the poor they're, and everywhere,

Oh, DEAR!

I love you, R65.

it's yes to know, the grammar nazi still has his mojo. And in a thread about backwards medical systems and people dying.

^ I like to think we are maintaining high standards in wartime.