New Orleans now has the highest coronavirus death rate in the US and almost DOUBLE the rate in New York City, because many residents suffer from obesity, diabetes and high blood pressure
Orleans Parish, which encompasses New Orleans, has a rate of 37.93 coronavirus deaths per 100,000 people
The rate is double than that for New York City which is 18.86 deaths per 100,000
It’s believed poor health in the south including increased levels of obesity, diabetes and hypertension, may be part of the problem
CDC report reveals 78% of COVID-19 patients in ICUs in the United States had an underlying health condition
In New Orleans 39% of residents have high blood pressure, 36% suffering from obesity and 15% have diabetes , according to research
By JAMES GORDON
DAILYMAIL.COM
5 April 2020
The coronavirus has been a far deadlier threat in New Orleans than the rest of the United States, with a per-capita death rate twice that of New York City, research suggests.
Along with New York and Seattle, New Orleans has emerged as one of the early U.S. hot spots for the coronavirus.
But the death rate in New Orleans is almost twice that of New York, with doctors and public health officials blaming the Big Easy’s high levels of obesity and related ailments.
Orleans Parish, which encompasses the city, reported 153 confirmed coronavirus deaths as of Friday, the equivalent of 37.93 coronavirus deaths per 100,000 people. That rate for New York City was at 18.86 per 100,00 people on Friday, the Wall Street Journal reports.
‘We’re just sicker,’ said Rebekah Gee, who until January was the health secretary for Louisiana and now heads Louisiana State University’s healthcare services division.
‘We already had tremendous healthcare disparities before this pandemic – one can only imagine they are being amplified now.’
As of Saturday the state of Louisiana reported 12,496 cases and 409 deaths.
Statewide, Louisiana is second only to New York state in per-capita deaths, the Journal reports.
‘We have more than our fair share of people who have the comorbidities that make them especially vulnerable,’ said Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards to the Wall Street Journal.
New Orleans officials have warned the city could run out of ventilators and hospital beds by the end of next week.
Chief among the concerns raised by doctors working in the Louisiana city is the death rate, which is twice that of New York and over four times that of Seattle, based on Thursday’s publicly reported data.
New Orleans residents suffer from obesity, diabetes and hypertension at rates higher than the national average, conditions that doctors and public health officials say can make patients more vulnerable to COVID-19, the highly contagious respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus.
Some 97% of those killed by COVID-19 in Louisiana had a pre-existing condition, according to the state health department.
Diabetes was seen in 40% of the deaths, obesity in 25%, chronic kidney disease in 23% and cardiac problems in 21%.
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