The latest data from the Louisiana Department of Health showed the state with 1,100 new cases Monday after 31,857 reported tests. That puts the rough positivity rate at 3.5 percent.

The new cases pushed the state’s total of identified cases to 462,868. Of the overall identified cases, 392,487 are confirmed, with 70,381 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.

Louisiana had 10,438 total COVID-19 deaths as of Monday, with five new deaths added. Of the total deaths, 9,493 are confirmed COVID-19 deaths, with 945 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 April 28.

Local numbers

In Iberia Parish, the number of cases rose to 7,093 Monday. Of those, 6,393 are confirmed, with 641 probable. The number of deaths remained at 153, with 138 confirmed and 15 probable. There have been 96,673 tests performed in the parish. The seven-day average test positivity dropped 40.9 percent, from 9.3 percent on April 21 to 5.5 percent on April 28. The incidence of tests dropped 17.2 percent, from 122.6 per 10,000 population on April 21 to 101.5 on April 28.

St. Martin Parish’s number of identified cases remained at 5,284, with 67,432 tests performed. The seven-day average test positivity rate dropped from 7.4 percent on April 21 to 5.6 percent on April 28, a 24.3 percent decrease, while the testing incidence rate per 10,000 population dropped 17.8 percent, from 83.9 on April 21 to 69 on April 28. The number of deaths remained at 116, with 105 confirmed and 11 probable.

In St. Mary Parish, the seven-day positivity rate dropped to 1.8 percent as of April 28, down from 3 percent on April 21, a 40 percent decrease. The testing incidence rate per 10,000 population rose from 48.2 on April 21 to 60.3 on April 28, a 25 percent increase. Total cases Monday rose to 4,730 after 60,296 tests. Of those positive tests, 3,664 are confirmed, with 1,066 probable. The number of COVID-19 deaths rose to 138, with 118 confirmed and 20 probable. 

Around the state

In Lafayette Parish, the Monday case count rose to 23,542, with the number of tests rising to 339,123. The seven-day test positivity average rose to 4.9 percent as of April 28, up 8.9 percent from 4.5 percent on April 14. The testing incidence rate per 10,000 population dropped during the same period, from 80.3 on April 21 to 79.1 on April 28, a 1.5 percent decrease. The number of deaths remained at 277, with 253 confirmed and 24 probable. 

The number of cases in Jefferson Parish rose to 46,200 on Monday, compared to an increase to 30,098 in Orleans Parish. The latest data shows Orleans administered more tests, with 953,753, compared to 664,293 tests in Jefferson.

Jefferson Parish continues to surpass the COVID-19 death toll in Orleans Parish. Orleans Parish deaths remained at 792, with 738 confirmed and 54 probable. In Jefferson Parish, the total number of deaths rose to 895, with 849 confirmed and 46 probable.

Hospitalizations

The LDH report showed hospitalizations statewide due to coronavirus infections rose to 324 on Sunday, down 26 from 350 on Saturday. The number of patients on ventilators was down two, to 34.

The number of COVID-19 hospitalizations in Region 4, which covers Acadiana, dropped by two, to 56 Sunday. The number of patients on ventilators dropped by one, to four.

Overall hospital bed occupancy in Region 4 Sunday was at 65.5 percent, with 1,077 of the region’s beds occupied and 568 available. The total number of reported beds remained at 1,645.

Overall intensive care unit occupancy across Acadiana was at 72.2 percent Sunday, with 109 of 151 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 95,098 Thursday. It is the demographic group with the largest number of identified cases by far. The number of deaths reported in the group was 36. 

The number of COVID-19 cases identified in the 30 to 39 age group was at 74,770, with 133 deaths, followed closely by the 40 to 49 age group, with 67,354 cases and 312 deaths, and the 50 to 59 age range with 66,229 cases, including 901 fatalities reported. 

In the 60 to 69 age group, there were 52,413 cases reported and 1,986 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 46,304. The number of deaths in that group rose to 7,063 — 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 60,391 cases total — 11,114 age 4 and under — and seven reported deaths.

Seven-day average

The state’s seven-day average of tests given as of April 28 was 179.6 tests per 10,000 residents, down from 187.7 on April 21. The positivity rate among those tests dropped a tenth of a point as of April 28 to 2.7 percent, down from 2.8 percent on April 21. 

In Region 4, the April 21 testing rate was higher than the statewide number, at 193.9 tests per 10,000 residents, an increase from 178.4. The seven-day average percent positive of those tests was far higher than the state average at 4.3 percent, but still down from 4.4 percent on April 21.

According to Thursday’s update, labs in Louisiana have processed 7,153,618 COVID-19 tests so far.

Gender, underlying conditions

By gender, the state’s bi-weekly report shows women still making up the largest part — 56 percent — of the identified COVID-19 cases in the state, with men comprising 44 percent. On the other hand, the COVID-19 deaths are predominantly among men, 53.3 percent to 46.7 percent for women.

Initially, LDH reported that 70 percent of all COVID-19 deaths in the state were in the Black community. That number dropped to 38.27 percent as of May 5, while White victims still make up 60.29 percent of all fatal cases. 

The Native American/Alaskan Native total was at 0.15 percent. Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander data remained at 0.08 percent. Other races identified include Asian at 0.78 percent and Other at 0.37 percent.

The top three underlying conditions among COVID-19 deaths in the April 21 report were hypertension (62.99 percent), diabetes (36.94 percent), and cardiac disease (27.64 percent).

Other factors included neurological disorders (26.32 percent), chronic kidney disease (21.76 percent), obesity (21.55 percent), congestive heart failure (16.43 percent), pulmonary issues (14.96 percent), cancer (9.01 percent), and asthma (4.19 percent). Only 4.28 percent of all patients had no underlying conditions.