OPELOUSAS, La. (KLFY) – Opelousas General Health System is seeing a slight increase in COVID positive patients, but says cases seem to be mild.

In mid-May, the Acadiana region saw an increase in COVID cases. For St. Landry Parish and Opelousas General, they lagged behind with their increase coming in mid-June. Chief Population Officer, Tim Marks, explains, “When we look here, we did see a decrease in March. We were averaging zero to one patient most days but around mid-June we saw an increase happen.”

Currently, the hospital has three COVID positive patients in house, none in the ICU. “We’ve been seeing that on average three, four, five patients remain in place,” adds Marks. He says 25% to 30% of emergency room visits are COVID related. Marks continues, “I will say the majority is COVID related but a lot milder than what we saw previously.”

Around 48% of the Acadiana region is vaccinated. St. Landry Parish sits at 51%. “It is particularly milder in people vaccinated. The cases that are rougher are people who haven’t been vaccinated,” says Marks. Operations are close to pre-COVID but says some restrictions and masking do remain in place.