REBECCA SANTANA and MELINDA DESLATTE
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Louisiana hospitals are brimming with patients from the latest coronavirus surge, and they have the added woe of a hurricane. Ida slammed ashore Sunday as one of the most powerful storms ever to hit the United States. Hospitals and intensive care units are packed with patients from Louisiana’s fourth coronavirus surge — one brought on by the contagious delta variant and low vaccination rates. Gov. John Bel Edwards says evacuation of hospitals in threatened areas was impractical because hospital beds are filled with COVID-19 patients. Some are on ventilators. Edwards says the state will make sure hospitals have water and electricity.
