State totals move up again after server error fixed

Published 12:00 am Wednesday, May 27, 2020

The Tuesday update from the Louisiana Department of Health showed a return to the data course seen prior to last week’s server error, with small increases in new cases and deaths as the number of hospitalizations continues to trend downward.

The state’s Tuesday update reported 38,054 identified cases of COVID-19 in the state, a rise of 245 over Sunday’s figure of 37,809. That marks an increase of 0.65 percent.

After a slight bump Sunday, the number of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 dropped by 16 to 831. The number of patients statewide on ventilators went up by one, to 103.

The state cumulative tally of COVID-19 deaths increased by 11, going from 2,585 on Monday to 2,596 in Tuesday’s report. That rise represents an increase of 0.43 percent. As of May 24, 105 of those deaths were still considered probable COVID-19 fatalities pending final testing. The number of probable deaths attributed to COVID-19 is updated each week on Monday.

In Iberia Parish, the total number of cases rose by one to 393 Tuesday. The number of deaths remained at 37, with 4,203 tests performed in the parish.

In St. Mary Parish, two new identified cases were added, bringing that parish’s total to 304 after 2,912 tests. The number of COVID-19 deaths in the parish remained at 29.

St. Martin Parish identified cases rose by two to 291 with 2,941 tests performed. The number of deaths remained static at 22.

In Lafayette Parish, the reported case count climbed by four to 678. The number of deaths remained at 23. There have been 14,980 tests reported in the parish.

The number of cases in Jefferson Parish rose by 34 to 7,332 on Tuesday, compared to a rise of 16 new cases in Orleans Parish to bring that total to 7,021. Both parishes have had similar numbers of tests conducted — 43,817 in Jefferson compared to 42,916 in Orleans.

Even with similar case and test numbers, the more urban Orleans Parish has seen 66 more deaths than its suburban neighbor. Orleans Parish deaths rose by two to 504. Jefferson added one death, rising to 438 fatalities.

The number of Louisiana COVID-19 cases identified in the 50-59 age range rose to 7,033, including 233 fatalities.

The 70 and above group case count rose to 6,642 cases, making it the age group with the largest number of identified cases. The number of deaths in that group rose to 1,737 — the largest number of fatalities for any age group by far, more than the number of deaths in all other groups combined and more than two-thirds of the total COVID-19 attributed deaths in the state.

In the 40 to 49 age group, the number of cases has risen to 6,321 with 97 deaths reported. There were 6,060 identified cases in the 30-39 age group, and 45 deaths. In the 60 to 69 age group, there were 5,857 cases reported and 473 deaths.

The 18 to 29 age group had 5,261 cases and nine reported deaths. The under 18 group had 880 cases total, with two deaths reported.

The state’s reference laboratory has performed 17,725 COVID-19 tests so far. Commercial labs have contributed 323,301, for a total of 341,026 tests.

By gender, the state’s daily report shows women making up the largest part — 55 percent — of the identified COVID-19 cases in the state, with men comprising 40 percent and the other five percent identified as unknown or other. On the other hand, the COVID-19 deaths are predominantly among men, 54 percent to 46 percent for women.

The state issued its weekly update on the number of infections among nursing home residents and staff Monday, as well as the number of deaths among residents.

In Iberia Parish:

• Belle Teche Nursing and Rehab Center had 36 infections and four deaths among its 101 residents, with 18 infections among its staff.

• Consolata Nursing Home reported no infections among its 64 residents and one infection among the staff.

• Maison Teche Nursing Center reported 44 infections and 10 deaths among its 60 residents, with seven infections among the staff.

• New Iberia Manor North Iberia reported 33 positive cases and 4 deaths among its 57 residents and 11 infections among the staff.

• New Iberia Manor South reported that all 52 of its residents have tested positive for COVID-19 and that 13 of them have died. There have also been 22 positive cases found among the center’s staff.

In St. Martin Parish:

• St. Agnes Healthcare and Rehab Center reported 47 positive cases of COVID-19 and 11 deaths among its 86 residents and 11 infections among the staff.

• Landmark of Acadiana Nursing Home reported no infections among its 119 residents and no infections among its staff.

In St. Mary Parish:

• Legacy Nursing and Rehabilitation of Franklin reported 73 positive COVID-19 tests and 15 deaths among its 90 residents. Another 18 positive cases were found among the center’s employees.

• Legacy Nursing and Rehabilitation of Morgan City reported no infections among its 73 residents and no infections among the staff.

• Patterson Healthcare Center reported one positive COVID-19 case among its 93 residents and one case among the center’s employees.

The state had reported the number of clusters of infections at specific nursing homes and long-term care facilities until April 1, when it stopped. Instead, LDH began reporting aggregate totals of infected facilities and residents. Those reports were also limited to twice a week, on Monday and Wednesday.

The number of presumed recovered cases, as of May 24, rose to 28,700. In order to be considered recovered, a living patient must either be out of the hospital and 14 days past a positive test result, or 21 days past a positive test date if their hospitalization status is unknown. As with the number of probable fatalities, that statistic is scheduled to be updated weekly, on Monday.

The breakdown of COVID-19 fatalities by ethnicity and race showed some change last week, with the percentage of those deaths in the black community rising, but not to the point it had been a month ago.

Initially, LDH reported that 70 percent of all COVID-19 deaths in the state were in the black community. That number has since hovered in the mid-to-high 50-percent range. It dropped to 54.58 percent Monday from 55.33 percent a week ago. That data is only reported once a week.

The number is still disproportionate to the demographics of the state’s population. African Americans make up about 40 percent of Louisiana’s populace.

The top three underlying conditions among COVID-19 deaths in the latest report were hypertension (57.83 percent), diabetes (35.33 percent), and cardiac disease (20.49 percent). Other factors included chronic kidney disease (19.22 percent), obesity (18.85 percent), congestive heart failure (12.99 percent), pulmonary issues (11.43 percent), neurological disorders (9.47 percent), cancer (7.13 percent), and asthma (3.98 percent).

The state’s Department of Health updated its numbers Monday showing how individual nursing homes have been hit by the coronavirus. Here are nursing home COVID-19 numbers reported in the Teche Area.

Iberia Parish

• Belle Teche Nursing & Rehab Center: 36 positive cases, 4 deaths among 101 residents; 18 positive cases for staff.

• Consolata Nursing Home: No positive cases among 64 residents; 1 positive case for staff.

• Maison Teche Nursing Center: 44 positive cases, 10 deaths among 57 residents; 11 positive cases for staff.

• New Iberia Manor North: 33 positive cases, 4 deaths among 101 residents; 18 positive cases for staff.

• New Iberia Manor South: 52 positive cases, 13 deaths among 53 residents; 22 positive cases for staff.

St. Martin Parish

• St. Agnes Healthcare & Rehab Center: 47 positive cases, 11 deaths among 86 residents; 11 positive cases for staff.

• Landmark of Acadiana Nursing Home: No positive cases among 119 residents; No positive cases for staff.

St. Mary Parish

• Legacy Nursing & Rehabilitation of Franklin: 73 positive cases, 15 deaths among 90 residents; 18 positive cases for staff.

• Legacy Nursing & Rehabilitation of Morgan City: No positive cases among 73 residents; No positive cases for staff.

• Patterson Healthcare Center: 1 positive case, no deaths among 93 residents; 1 positive case for staff.