For the third day in a row, Louisiana hospitals reported record-breaking numbers of coronavirus patients, with 2,350 hospitalized across the state, according to a noon update from the Louisiana Department of Health.
The number of hospitalizations increased by 103, and the number of patients in need of ventilators increased by 34, for a total of 258 patients in need of mechanical ventilation. More people are on ventilators than at any point since the first wave.
Cases also reached a new weekly high. The Louisiana Department of Health reported 3,905 more confirmed coronavirus cases and 27 more confirmed deaths in its noon update Thursday.
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There are an additional 1,563 “probable” cases and 6 “probable” deaths, for a total of 5,468 new cases and 33 new deaths.
Here are some of the regions with the highest number of patients hospitalized:
- New Orleans area: 485
- Baton Rouge area: 414
- North shore: 367
- Lafayette area: 287
- Shreveport area: 218
- River Parishes and Houma/Thibodaux: 164
- Alexandria area: 154
- Monroe area: 134
- Lake Charles area: 127
In Louisiana, 44,370 more people have started the vaccination process since Thursday, according to the update. Another 54,200 doses of COVID vaccines have been administered.
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There are 1,739,355 people who are fully vaccinated and 2,038,741 people who have received at least one dose of a vaccine.
The total number of administered doses is now 3,641,431. Most of those shots are part of the two-dose regimen recommended for the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, which is why the total number of people who have received at least one dose is lower than the total number of doses.
Out of Louisiana’s entire estimated population, 43.7% of people have received at least one dose and 37% of people are fully vaccinated.
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Here are some of the parishes with the highest single-day increase in confirmed coronavirus cases, based on the Thursday report:
- Jefferson: 521 new cases
- East Baton Rouge: 311 new cases, 1 new death
- Orleans: 355 new cases, 3 new deaths
- Lafayette: 208 new cases, 1 new death
- Caddo: 250 new cases
- St. Tammany: 289 new cases, 2 new deaths
Note: The Advocate and The Times-Picayune staff calculates daily case count and confirmed death increases based on the difference between today’s total and yesterday’s total of confirmed coronavirus cases and deaths. The Louisiana Department of Health releases a daily case count on its dashboard that includes probable cases as indicated by a positive antigen test. That case count can be different than the one listed here.
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Louisiana began reopening for Phase 1 on May 15-16 then moved to Phase 2 on June 5. Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards extended Louisiana’s Phase 2 restrictions twice in August before moving the state to Phase 3 on Sept. 11. The governor then moved the state back to a modified Phase 2 near the end of November before putting Louisiana back in a modified Phase 3 on March 2, 2021.
This is a developing story. More details and analysis to come.
