The latest data from the Louisiana Department of Health showed the state with 300 new cases Thursday after 13,161 reported tests. That puts the rough positivity rate at 2.3 percent.

The new cases pushed the state’s total of identified cases to 472,617. Of the overall identified cases, 399,546 are confirmed, with 73,071 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 10,605 total COVID-19 deaths as of Thursday, with 10 new deaths added. Of the total deaths, 9,618 are confirmed COVID-19 deaths, with 987 considered probable COVID-19 fatalities pending final testing.

The average age of fatal patients was at 74, while the median age remained at 76, as of June 2.

Local numbers

In Iberia Parish, the number of cases dropped by two on Thursday, to 7,294. Of those, 6,607 are confirmed, with 687 probable. The number of deaths rose by one, to 158, with 141 confirmed and 17 probable. There have been 101,287 tests performed in the parish. The seven-day average test positivity rose 17.5 percent, from 4 percent on May 19 to 4.7 percent on May 26. The incidence of tests also rose 8.6 percent, from 69.1 per 10,000 population on May 12 to 74.7 on May 26.

St. Martin Parish’s number of identified cases rose by 26, to 5,445, with 70,886 tests performed. The seven-day average test positivity rate dropped from 7 percent on May 19 to 6.7 percent on May 26, a 4.3 percent decrease, while the testing incidence rate per 10,000 population dropped 22.5 percent, from 70.9 on May 19 to 91.4 on May 26. The number of deaths remained at 117, with 106 confirmed and 11 probable.

In St. Mary Parish, the seven-day positivity rate dropped to 4.8 percent as of May 26, down from 6 percent on May 19, a 20 percent decrease. The testing incidence rate per 10,000 population rose from 72.3 on May 19 to 92.4 on May 26, a 27.8 percent increase. Total cases Thursday rose to 4,885 after 62,568 tests. Of those positive tests, 3,751 are confirmed, with 1,134 probable. The number of COVID-19 deaths was at 140, with 120 confirmed and 20 probable.

Around the state

In Lafayette Parish, the Thursday case count rose to 24,097, an increase of 28, with the number of tests rising to 353,479. The seven-day test positivity average dropped to 4.2 percent as of May 26, down 10.7 percent from 4.7 percent on May 12. The testing incidence rate per 10,000 population dropped during the same period, from 78.3 on May 19 to 64.3 on May 26, a 17.9 percent decrease. The number of deaths dropped by one, to 288, with 259 confirmed and 29 probable.

The number of cases in Jefferson Parish rose to 46,926 on Thursday compared to an increase to 30,675 in Orleans Parish. The latest data shows Orleans administered more tests, with 992,177, compared to 694,223 tests in Jefferson.

Jefferson Parish continues to surpass the COVID-19 death toll in Orleans Parish. Orleans Parish deaths were at 794, with 739 confirmed and 55 probable. In Jefferson Parish, the total number of deaths was at 899, with 852 confirmed and 47 probable.

Hospitalizations

The LDH report showed hospitalizations statewide due to coronavirus infections rose to 296 on Wednesday, up two from 294 on Tuesday. The number of patients on ventilators dropped by two, to 24.

In Region 4, which covers Acadiana, hospitalizations rose by two, to 54 Wednesday. The number of patients on ventilators dropped from six to three.

As of its June reports, LDH is no longer reporting the resource availability — hospital and intensive care beds — unless the current trends in the pandemic change dramatically.

By age group

Broken down by age group, the number of cases statewide in the 18 to 29 demographic was at 97,311 Thursday. It is the demographic group with the largest number of identified cases by far. The number of deaths reported in the group was 40.

The number of COVID-19 cases identified in the 30 to 39 age group was at 76,585 with 138 deaths, followed closely by the 40 to 49 age group, with 68,834 cases and 330 deaths, and the 50 to 59 age range with 67,427 cases, including 924 fatalities reported.

In the 60 to 69 age group, there were 53,131 cases reported and 2,033 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 46,750. The number of deaths in that group rose to 7,132 — 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 62,273 cases total — 11,533 age 4 and under — and eight reported deaths.

Seven-day average

The state’s seven-day average of tests given as of May 26 was 144.8 tests per 10,000 residents, down from 157.5 on May 19. The positivity rate among those tests remained at 3.2 percent.

In Region 4, the May 19 testing rate was higher than the statewide number, at 158.5 tests per 10,000 residents, an increase from 142.1. The seven-day average percent positive of those tests was down, but still higher than the state average at 4.4 percent, down from 4.6 percent on May 19.

According to Thursday’s update, labs in Louisiana have processed 7,463,939 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.

The percentage of COVID-19 deaths in the Black community dropped slightly, to 38.3 percent as of June 2, while White victims make up 60.3 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 0.32 percent.

The top three underlying conditions among COVID-19 deaths in the May 19 report were hypertension (62.99 percent), diabetes (36.99 percent), and cardiac disease (28 percent).

Other factors included neurological disorders (26.3 percent), chronic kidney disease (21.7 percent), obesity (21.7 percent), congestive heart failure (16.49 percent), pulmonary issues (15 percent), cancer (9.2 percent), and asthma (4.21 percent). Only 4.41 percent of all patients had no underlying conditions.

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