The Louisiana Department of Health added 1,393 new COVID-19 cases Tuesday based on 27,066 new tests, pushing the state’s total of identified cases to 426,048.

Of the overall identified cases, 367,040 are confirmed, with 59,008 listed as possible cases.

According to an LDH spokesman, people initially identified as having a positive antigen test who are later identified as having a positive confirmatory test will be removed from the possible case count and added to the cumulative case count.

The rough positivity rate for the new cases reported Tuesday was 5.1 percent.

Louisiana had 9,503 total COVID-19 deaths as of Tuesday, with 26 new deaths added. Of the total deaths, 8,834 are confirmed with 669 considered probable COVID-19 fatalities pending final testing.

The average age of fatal patients remained at 75, while the median age was at 76 as of Jan. 27. The state has not updated its demographic information since then.

Local numbers

In Iberia Parish, the number of cases rose to 6,429 Tuesday, an increase of 23. Of those, 5,913 are confirmed, with 516 probable. The number of deaths rose by two, to 145, with 133 confirmed and 12 probable. There have been 80,577 tests performed in the parish. The seven-day average test positivity dropped 10.61 percent, from 6.6 percent on Feb. 3 to 5.9 percent on Feb. 10. The incidence of tests dropped by 20.73 percent, from 231.18 per 10,000 population on Feb. 3 to 183.25 on Feb. 10.

St. Martin Parish’s number of identified cases rose to 4,813, an increase of 13, with 57,449 tests performed. The seven-day average test positivity rate dropped from 7.3 percent on Feb. 3 to 5.4 percent on Feb. 10, a 26 percent decrease, while the testing incidence rate per 10,000 population dropped from 132.41 on Feb. 3 to 87.65 on Feb. 10. The number of deaths remained at 111, with 102 confirmed and nine probable.

In St. Mary Parish, the seven-day positivity rate dropped to 3.8 percent as of Feb. 10, down from 4 percent on Feb. 3, a 5 percent decrease. The testing incidence rate per 10,000 population dropped as well, from 170.77 on Feb. 3 to 132.6 on Feb. 10. Total cases Tuesday rose to 4,096, after 49,350 tests. Of those positive tests, 3,310 are confirmed, with 786 probable. The number of COVID-19 deaths remained at 120, with 108 confirmed and 12 probable.

Around the state

In Lafayette Parish, the Tuesday case count rose by 35, to 21,481, with the number of tests rising to 281,884. The seven-day test positivity average dropped from 6.2 percent on Feb. 3 to 3.8 percent as of Feb. 10, a decrease of 38.71 percent. The testing incidence rate per 10,000 population dropped during the same period, from 139.22 to 82.79. The number of deaths rose by one, to 260, with 242 confirmed and 18 probable.

The number of cases in Jefferson Parish rose to 43,520 on Tuesday compared to 28,164 in Orleans Parish. The latest data shows Orleans administered more tests, with 743,442, compared to 547,896 tests in Jefferson.

Jefferson Parish continues to surpass the COVID-19 death toll in Orleans Parish. Orleans Parish deaths were at 757, with 710 confirmed and 47 probable. In Jefferson Parish, the total number of deaths was at 834, with 803 confirmed and 31 probable.

Hospitalizations

The LDH reporting on hospitalizations statewide due to coronavirus infections dropped to 715 on Monday, a decrease of 25 from 740 on Sunday. The number of patients on ventilators dropped by two, to 111.

The number of COVID-19 hospitalizations in Region 4, which covers Acadiana, dropped by two, to 57 Monday. The number of patients on ventilators remained at 11.

Overall hospital bed occupancy in Region 4 Monday just below 80 percent, with 1,184 of the region’s beds occupied and 439 available. The total number of reported beds was at 1,686.

Overall intensive care unit occupancy across Acadiana remained above 80 percent Monday, at 82.2 percent, with 125 of 152 beds occupied.

The overall occupancy percentages are based on all cases, not just COVID-19 cases, and includes not only the physical bed and space but also the staff required to issue care. The burden of additional patient load affects the ability of hospitals to serve all patients, especially in critical care situations.

By age group

Broken down by age group, the number of cases statewide in the 18 to 29 demographic was at 86,957 Tuesday. It is the demographic group with the largest number of identified cases by far. The number of deaths reported in the group was 31.

The number of COVID-19 cases identified in the 30 to 39 age group was at 68,312, with 124 deaths, followed closely by the 40 to 49 age group, with 61,935 cases and 274 deaths, and the 50 to 59 age range with 61,328 cases, including 790 fatalities reported.

In the 60 to 69 age group, there were 49,343 cases reported and 1,781 deaths. This age group has the second-highest number of deaths, behind only the 70 and above demographic group.

The 70 and above group case count was at 44,511. The number of deaths in that group rose to 6,496 — still 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.

The under 18 group had 53,355 cases total — 9,720 age 4 and under — and seven reported deaths.

Seven-day average

The state’s seven-day average of tests given as of Feb. 10 was 290.2 tests per 10,000 residents, down from 323.6 on Feb. 3. The positivity rate among those tests dropped as of Feb. 10 to 5 percent, down from 6.2 percent on Feb. 3.

In Region 4, the Feb. 10 testing rate was at 282.1 tests per 10,000 residents. The seven-day average percent positive of those tests was lower than the state average at 4.6 percent, down from 6 percent on Feb. 3.

According to Tuesday’s update, labs in Louisiana have processed 5,822,254 COVID-19 tests so far.

The state has not updated any of its demographic info on COVID-19 deaths since Jan. 27.

Dwayne Fatherree is the community editor for The Daily Iberian. He can be reached at dwayne.fatherree@daily-iberian.com.