Dr. K. Lance Gould of Houston, the cardiologist who has helped me avoid serious heart disease complications for over 30 years, had some sensible advice as I left his office Friday: “If your family is getting together for Christmas, have everyone wear a mask.”

What a pleasure it was to be in Gould’s six-story building and not see anyone who wasn’t wearing a facemask. In fact, no one could get into the medical offices without one. And if the checkers thought you didn’t have a good one, they gave you one that gave better protection.

The recent surge in COVID-19 cases has been blamed, for the most part, on family gatherings during Thanksgiving. Although Americans were advised to avoid unnecessary travel, many didn’t take the advice.

Good friends of mine who live in this area have contracted the coronavirus disease, and some of them are struggling for their lives. Some members of my extended family also have to deal with COVID-19.

The numbers are staggering. The Advocate reported that hospitalizations in Louisiana climbed above 1,600 by Friday, which is higher than the totals seen during the summer surge of COVID-19. Hospital officials issued a new round of warnings that the virus is continuing to spread.

Dr. Catherine O’Neal, infectious disease expert at Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center in Baton Rouge, said, “Our hospital is full. Every hospital in the state is full. I worry about my family. I worry about small communities that don’t have access to care. We’ve got to get this pandemic under control if we want to give care to everybody.”

Ryan Cross, a spokesman for the hospital, said it added 19 COVID patients over a 24-hour period. In a lull period, the hospital gets two to three a day, he said. The ICU has 124 patients and normal capacity is 95, with 80-90 patients in the unit at any given time.

Dr. Takeisha Davis, CEO of New Orleans East Hospital, said, “Our health care teams are tired. We’ve been battling COVID-19 for nine months.

Gov. John Bel Edwards is asking people not to hold traditional holiday gatherings with people outside their immediate families. He is expected to announce early this week what the next phase of coronavirus restrictions will look like, but said he won’t be loosening restrictions.

“We cannot take our eye off of what is the main priority here, and that is slowing the spread immediately,” Edwards said.

You would think with this latest surge and the governor’s many court wins over the last months, that the court challenges over his restrictions would end. Unfortunately, there are still those out there who refuse to see the deadly coronavirus for what it really is.

A St. Martin Parish state district judge last week agreed to temporarily block enforcement of the governor’s restrictions against a bar in Catahoula Parish. The bar’s attorney said that he doesn’t believe the governor’s restrictions are based on science.

The Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control (ATC) has suspended the liquor licenses of 70 establishments, and 19 of those are pending, including the suspension of the Catahoula bar.

Edwards spokesperson Christina Stephens said in an email, “The ATC will respond shortly to have this (the lawsuit) dismissed.” She said the district judge who upheld Edwards’ authority was clear and all the governor’s orders stand.

The next major problem in controlling the coronavirus is getting citizens to take the increasing number of vaccinations necessary to wipe out COVID-19. The Food and Drug Administration Friday authorized an emergency rollout of the vaccine developed by Moderna Inc. and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Dr. Francis Collins, director of the NIH, told The Associated Press, “Science is working here, science has done something amazing.”

Moderna is easier to handle since it doesn’t need to be stored at ultrafrozen temperatures. The company said it expects to have 85-100 million doses available in the U.S. in the first three months of 2021.

A major concern of Collins is making sure accurate information about the vaccine reaches communities of color, which have been hardhit by COVID-19. Members of those communities remember when their families were victims of research abuses in past years.

Collins said, “Frankly, if we don’t succeed in getting 80 percent or so of Americans immunized against COVID-19 by the middle of this 2021-year, we have the risk that this epidemic could go on and on and on.”

Meanwhile, the wearing of facemasks, observing social distancing and avoiding crowds will be necessary until that 80 percent is reached. I assured my cardiologist that my family would continue those requirements as long as necessary, and that all of us would not get together during Christmas.

The more vigilant we are during the next six months or so, the greater holidays we will have in the fall of 2021.SURGE CONTINUES — The coronavirus pandemic is experiencing another surge in cases and deaths, and most cases are believed to have occurred over the  Thanksgiving holiday. Now, Christmas is coming and citizens have to be on guard.

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