The fact that so many Louisiana families have had to mourn the loss of loved ones because of this coronavirus pandemic is simply heartbreaking. The disease certainly can be deadly and dangerous. However, new information is being brought to light about the virus and how it turns deadly.

Still, the question that begs to be answered remains, "did the coronavirus kill these thousands of people or did they simply die of another cause that was exacerbated by the virus?"

Why that's important has everything to do with what our proper response to controlling and curtailing the pandemic might need to be. NOLA.com published a story that discussed the most common underlying conditions that were also present at the time of death in the state's COVID-19 patients.

  • Hypertension 59.39%
  • Diabetes 36.65%
  • Cardiac Disease 20.92%
  • Chronic Kidney Disease 20.10%
  • Obesity 19.69%
  • Congestive Heart Failure 12.90%
  • Pulmonary 11.71%
  • Neurological 8.43%
  • Cancer 7.57%
  • Asthma 4.15%

The Louisiana Department of Health as of May 19th was reporting the state had 35,038 confirmed cases of COVID-19. 2,458 deaths have been blamed on the virus. However, we can't be sure that it was the virus that was fatal or the underlying conditions combined with the virus that ended a specific patient's life.

Bloomberg is reporting that 80% of COVID-19 deaths have occurred in people age 65 or older.  That's a staggering fact until you consider that in 2018 long before the pandemic began that 78% of all U.S. deaths, not counting accidents, murders, overdoses and the like were in that same age group.

I can't be sure but I would be willing to bet Governor Edwards paycheck that many of those people that passed away in 2018 had many of the underlying symptoms you see listed above.

I am not saying that the coronavirus pandemic isn't real. I am saying our response to it will likely need to be adjusted as we learn more about the disease and who it is most likely to harm.

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READ MORE: See how some companies are changing their businesses to combat COVID-19

 

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