The peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in Louisiana is about nine days away, according to projections published by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluations (IHME).

According to the Institute's projections, Louisiana will hit peak hospital resources on April 8.

This is in line with what Gov. John Bel Edwards referenced last week.

"We are far from OK," Edwards said in a briefing on Wednesday. "If our growth continues, we could potentially run out of vents the first week in April in the New Orleans area."

At that time, the number of ICU beds needed for COVID-19 patients will exceed the number available in Louisiana, according to the IHME model.

The IHME model also forecasts that Louisiana will need 775 ventilators, representing just over 4% of the 18,767 needed nationally.

IHME predicts the number of deaths per day will peak in Louisiana at 97 on April 9-10. The models project a total of 2,081 deaths in the state before the virus stops spreading in mid-May.

As of Sunday, there were 3,540 known cases of coronavirus in Louisiana with 151 people having died from it. 1,127 are hospitalized, more than a third of them on ventilators.

The IHME says its forecast model is designed to address the planning needs of hospitals and local governments.

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