Hospitalizations and new cases of COVID-19 have continued to decline, but as Louisiana prepares for Hurricane Ida and the other potential tropical storms brewing in the Atlantic the potential for increased transmission of the disease and the loss of valuable intensive care beds remains very real.

According to the Friday update from the Louisiana Department of Health, the state saw a decrease in the number of COVID-19 hospitalizations and ventilator use. The number of COVID-19 hospitalizations in the state dropped to 2,684 Friday, down 45 from Wednesday’s total of 2,729. The state data also shows that the number of patients on ventilators decreased Thursday to 479, a drop of one from Wednesday’s total of 472.

When Hurricane Laura struck Lake Charles a year ago, the damage forced hospitals there to evacuate patients to other facilities across the region. But at that time, hospitals were much farther from outstripping their capacity, with around 900 COVID-19 cases. Even with the drop in coronavirus hospitalizations of late, the capacity is still being stressed at three times the level it was then.

That means evacuation to a neighboring parish after Hurricane Ida may not be an option.

The number of deaths reported Friday, however, dropped to 61. That is lower than the 72 deaths attributed to the disease Thursday, and less than half of the 139 posted Tuesday. It is still a far cry from the single-digit daily reports the state was seeing in July prior to the prevalence of the Delta variant of the virus.

The 61 new deaths brings the state’s total COVID-19 deaths to 12,359.

In Region 4, which encompasses the Acadiana area, hospitalizations dropped by nine Thursday, to 379, from 388 Wednesday. The region’s number of ventilator cases remained at 77 on Thursday.

Region 4’s ICU bed occupancy remained at 178 Thursday, with six beds available across the seven-parish area. That put the percentage of occupied ICU beds at 96.7 percent.

In Region 3, which stretches from St. Mary Parish east to Lafourche and north to St. Charles, 85 of 94 ICU beds were occupied as of Thursday. To the west, where Region 5 encompasses the area from Allen, Jefferson Davis and Cameron parishes to the Texas-Louisiana state line, only three of 84 reported ICU beds were available.

The overall hospital bed occupancy in Region 4 is still high, but not as dire as the ICU occupancy. As of Sunday, the occupancy rate had dropped below 80 percent, where it has remained. But it rose to 78.4 percent Thursday with 376 of 1,740 beds available.

Iberia Parish had logged 11,197 COVID-19 cases as of Thursday, an increase of 61 since Thursday. The parish COVID-19 death toll remained at 193. In St. Martin Parish, 24 new cases were identified, bringing the total there to 7,617. The number of deaths rose by one, to 135.

In St. Mary Parish, new cases rose to 7,754, an increase of 28, with deaths rising by two, to 187.

The seven-day test positivity rates released last week showed the Teche Area numbers dropping slightly but remaining high. In Iberia Parish, the seven-day positivity rate rose from 24.3 percent on Aug. 11 to 24.6 percent on Aug. 18, which is slightly more than a 1 percent increase. In St. Martin Parish, the seven-day average positivity remained unchanged at 22 percent. St. Mary Parish saw an 8.75 percent decrease, from 16 percent to 14.6 percent.

Neither the state average, which was at 15.5 percent as of Aug. 11, nor the Region 4 seven-day testing positivity average were updated as of Saturday afternoon.

According to Friday’s LDH update, the number of COVID-19 cases reported rose by 3,428, to 679,796.

Individuals can call the COVID-19 Vaccine Hotline at 1-855-453-0774 to get their questions answered, speak directly with a medical professional, find a vaccine provider near them, and schedule an appointment today.