Ida slams Louisiana hospitals brimming with virus patients

Southern Louisiana's hospitals, already packed with coronavirus patients from a fourth surge of the virus, were dealing Sunday with another challenge — the howling Category 4 hurricane pounding the coast.

"Once it is safe to do so they will evacuate their small number of patients," state health department spokeswoman Aly Neel said in an email. Details on the number of patients involved were not immediately available. Another Lafourche Parish hospital, Thibodaux Regional Medical Center, reported a partial generator failure to the state. Christina Stephens, a spokesperson for Gov. John Bel Edwards, said the facility "had not lost all critical power." She said some patients were moved to another part of the facility and the state health department was working with the hospital.