BATON ROUGE, La (BRPROUD)- Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards is pleading with residents to do better and take the coronavirus seriously. Cases spiked once again, and officials announced the state reached a third surge of the pandemic.

“Things are going to get worse before they get better but how much worse is up to us and how soon things get better is also up to us,” Edwards said.

Officials say a big difference between the first two surges and this one is that healthcare professionals have left the field. Doctors say every single hospital in the state is at risk of being overwhelmed.

“The stress on the healthcare team and certain individuals have become too much, Dr. Chris Thomas, a doctor at Our Lady of the Lake Hospital said. “Despite their career aspirations to take care of those that are sick. some have decided to leave the profession,”

The white house coronavirus task force sent out a report urging Louisiana to step up its restrictions, but Gov. Edwards says he has no plans to do so just yet.

“It is not my intention to go all the way back to a shelter at home,” Edwards said.

With the holidays quickly nearing, officials say right now is not the time to get lazy and break the rules.

“Think about what you’re grateful for this season, think about who you’re really thankful for this season, and think about would you want to be there next thanksgiving as well,” Dr. Joe Kanter, from Louisiana’s Department of Health said.

Dr. Thomas says even though we’ve been dealing with this pandemic for more than nine months, he still has patients who do not believe the coronavirus is real. Experts say the virus is real, and officials urge everyone to wash their hands, wear a mask, and be safe.

Gov. Edwards says it’s possible the state will start distributing a coronavirus vaccine in small numbers to health care workers before the end of the year.

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