Saturday new case count triple number reported Monday

Published 1:28 pm Saturday, June 13, 2020

The Louisiana Department of Health reported another 560 backlogged COVID-19 positive test results Saturday from testing in late April through last week, but also added 728 current tests to the state’s total identified infections.

According to a note on the LDH website, a total of 1,288 new cases were reported Saturday. That includes a backlog from multiple labs and facilities of 560 cases tested between April 25 and June 9. 

That 728 new identified infections marks the sixth straight day of increases in the state’s daily total of new cases. According to the LDH website, only 9 percent of the 728, or about 65, of the new infections are associated with congregate settings. That means more than 90 percent of the new cases are from average people in the community, not those working or living in a closed or confined environment.

Saturday’s 728 new cases marks the largest single-day report since April 9, when 708 new cases were added.

The number of new identified COVID-19 cases is obviously not the most accurate gauge of the pandemic’s growth, if only because of the logistical issues in getting the results reported as the continued recording of backlogged results shows. But as a general trend indicator, new daily identified cases in Louisiana have more than tripled, going from 234 Monday to 728 Saturday, as the state continues into the second phase of reopening its economy. 

On Thursday, there were 442 new cases. On Wednesday, that number was 418. Tuesday’s report added 562 new cases, but 155 of those were backlogged, most from early May. Subtracting those, the state identified 407 current new cases. 

Overall, LDH reported 46,283 identified cases of COVID-19 Saturday, an increase of 2.86 percent from Friday’s total of 44,995.  

The number of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 dropped by seven, to 542. The number of patients statewide on ventilators went up by two, to 76.

The state cumulative tally of COVID-19 deaths rose by eight, going from 2,883 on Friday to 2,891 in Saturday’s report. That rise represents an increase of 0.28 percent. As of Monday, 113 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 24, to 459. The number of deaths remained at 42, with 5,454 tests performed in the parish.

In St. Mary Parish, the total cases rose by five, to 353, after 4,139 tests. The number of COVID-19 deaths remained at 33.

St. Martin Parish’s number of identified cases rose by 24, to 340, with 4,714 tests performed. The number of deaths remained at 26.

In Lafayette Parish, the reported case count rose by 152 — a rise of 15.38 percent — to 1,140 Saturday. The number of deaths remained at 32. There have been 22,702 tests reported in the parish.

The number of cases in Jefferson Parish was reported up 248, at 8,339 on Saturday, compared to a rise of 55, to 7,374 cases, in Orleans Parish. Both parishes have had similar numbers of tests conducted — 61,193 in Jefferson compared to 54,672 in Orleans.

Even with similar case and test numbers, the more urban Orleans Parish has seen 51 more deaths than its suburban neighbor. Orleans Parish reported deaths remained at 516. Deaths in Jefferson also remained static, at 465 fatalities.

The number of Louisiana COVID-19 cases identified in the 50-59 age range rose to 8,172, including 254 fatalities. 

The 70 and above group case count rose to 7,707 cases. The number of deaths in that group rose by four to 1,949 — the largest number of fatalities for any age group by far, more than the number of deaths in all other groups combined and 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 7,610 with 106 deaths reported. There were 7,481 identified cases in the 30-39 age group, and 49 deaths. The 18 to 29 age group had 6,987 cases and 11 reported deaths. 

In the 60 to 69 age group, there were 6,696 cases reported and 520 deaths. This age group has the second-highest number of deaths, behind only the 70 and above demographic group.  

The under 18 group had 1,630 cases total, with two deaths reported.

Louisiana has finally performed more than a half million COVID-19 tests as of today’s report. The state’s reference laboratory has performed 27,141 COVID-19 tests so far. Commercial labs have contributed 477,242, for a total of 504,383 tests. 

By gender, the state’s daily report shows women making up the largest part — 54 percent — of the identified COVID-19 cases in the state, with men comprising 41 percent and the other five percent identified as unknown or other. On the other hand, the COVID-19 deaths are predominantly among men, 53 percent to 47 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. The largest new cluster was identified at the Colonial Care Retirement Center in Baton Rouge, where 39 new cases were reported.

In the Teche Area, Iberia, St. Martin and St. Mary nursing homes all reported that they had no new cases among residents last week.

In Iberia Parish:

• Belle Teche Nursing and Rehab Center had 37 infections and four deaths among its 104 residents. It also reported 18 infections among its staff, all of whom recovered. 

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

• Maison Teche Nursing Center reported 44 infections and 10 deaths among its 59  residents, 24 of whom recovered. It also reported seven infections among the staff, six of whom have recovered.

• New Iberia Manor North Iberia reported 34 positive cases and four deaths among its 57 residents, 25 of whom have recovered. It also reported 11 infections among the staff, nine of whom have recovered.

• New Iberia Manor South reported that 52 of its 50 residents have tested positive for COVID-19. Although 34 have recovered, 15 residents have died. There have also been 22 positive cases found among the center’s staff, 18 of whom recovered.

In St. Martin Parish:

• St. Agnes Healthcare and Rehab Center reported 47 positive cases of COVID-19 and 13 deaths among its 85 residents, 32 of whom recovered. It also reported 11 infections among the staff, all of whom recovered.

• 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 74 positive COVID-19 tests and 16 deaths among its 89 residents, 44 of whom recovered. Another 18 positive cases were found among the center’s employees, all of whom recovered.

• Legacy Nursing and Rehabilitation of Morgan City reported no infections among its 69 residents and no infections among the staff.

• Patterson Healthcare Center reported one positive COVID-19 case, recovered, among its 100 residents. It also reported three cases among the center’s employees, two of whom recovered.

In other long-term licensed adult care facilities, LDH reported that 122 of those facilities reported at least one case of COVID-19 among residents or staff, with 630 cases of COVID-19 and 91 deaths reported among the residents of those adult residential centers. 

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 June 6, rose to 33,904. 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 making up more than half of all cases. 

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 was at 53.2 percent  Monday, with Caucasian victims making up 43.94 percent of all cases. Other races identified include unknown at 1.20 percent, Asian at 0.78 percent, other at 0.64 percent, Native Hawaiin/Pacific Islander at 0.08 percent and Native American/Alaska Native at 0.07 percent. 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 (59.61 percent), diabetes (36.67 percent), and cardiac disease (20.48 percent). Other factors included chronic kidney disease (19.88 percent), obesity (19.43 percent), congestive heart failure (13.48 percent), pulmonary issues (11.88 percent), neurological disorders (10.61 percent), cancer (7.45 percent), and asthma (4.17 percent).