St. John the Baptist Parish, just south of Baton Rouge, La., has a population of just over 43,000 — and the highest per capita coronavirus mortality rate in the nation
The models POLITICO examined could still change. Public health experts can't account for how well people will follow social distancing measures, how many beds and ventilators a governor can acquire — or just plain luck.
With many Southern states only recently implementing stay-at-home orders, hospitals and local officials fear even sparsely populated counties could soon have more cases than their health care systems can handle. Local leaders and federal representatives are scrambling to add hospital capacity. “This is our fourth week dealing with the crisis, and unfortunately it does not appear we have reached the peak in the Albany area,” said Ben Roberts, a spokesperson for Phoebe Health, the largest medical center in the area. “We’re okay now, but as demand for [personal protective equipment] and critical care equipment and staff grows around the state and the country, the crisis could get exponentially worse.
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