Coronavirus Currently Not a Problem for Louisiana

Harold Cancienne Sr.
January 31, 2020
Five Face Drug Charges in Lafourche
January 31, 2020
Harold Cancienne Sr.
January 31, 2020
Five Face Drug Charges in Lafourche
January 31, 2020

According to the Office of Public Health, the state is under no immediate threat of the Coronavirus.

Currently six people are confirmed to have the virus in the United States at the moment, and less than 100 are being monitored for symptoms of it – either for exposure or have symptoms of a cold after having visited China recently. These numbers do not include anyone from Louisiana, as of January 31, noon.

“The easy answer is, no, we don’t see any imminent risk really for the entire state,” said Alexander Billioux, the Assistant Secretary for the Office of Public Health.


According to Billioux, the state is taking many actions to keep all doctors and medical officials within the state in constant communication with up-to-date information, since early January.

The incubation period for symptoms is as few as two to as many as 14 days, as of current data.

This strand of the Coronavirus is of concern because, officials suspect, it jumped from some animal to humans. The human immune system, having never been exposed to this new strand, has to learn how to combat it. Billioux explained, as an example, there are four other strands of the Coronavirus which cause the common cold – human immune systems, being used to it, minimize symptoms.


There are other viruses to be concerned about, said Billioux, “a much bigger deal is we are in the midst of a terrible flu season.”

Currently, there are two strains of the flu virus people should consider vaccinating for, said Billioux: strain A and strain B. After monitoring what strains are common for the year, the vaccines are created with four strains that are predicted to be a problem. The current vaccine contains A and B among it’s four.