According to Wednesday’s LDH data, the number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients statewide dropped to 477 Tuesday, a decrease of 29 from 506 on Monday. Data showed the number of patients on ventilators dropped by 14, to 88.

In Region 4, which encompasses the Acadiana area, hospitalizations were up by three for the second day in a row, to 46 Tuesday. The region’s number of ventilator cases remained at eight for the fourth straight day.

Those numbers are commensurate with the COVID patient load the region saw from March through July of this year, before the Delta variant drove infections, hospitalizations and deaths through the roof, nearly doubling any one of the three previous spikes in the COVID-19 pandemic here.

Region 4’s ICU bed occupancy was at 123 Tuesday. There were 37 ICU beds available across the seven-parish area. That put the percentage of occupied ICU beds up slightly, at 76.9 percent. 

In Region 3, which stretches from St. Mary Parish east to Lafourche and north to St. Charles, 41 of 53 ICU beds were occupied as of Tuesday. To the west, where Region 5 encompasses the area from Allen, Jefferson Davis and Cameron parishes to the Texas-Louisiana state line, 42 of 84 reported ICU beds were available.

The overall hospital bed occupancy in Region 4 was also up slightly, at 74.4 percent Tuesday, with 433 of 1,693 beds available.

The state recorded 30 new COVID-19 deaths since Wednesday, bringing the total to 14,268. The number of COVID-19 cases reported rose by 551 since Tuesday, to 750,473. 

Iberia Parish had logged 12,340 COVID-19 cases as of Wednesday, an increase of one. The parish COVID-19 death toll rose by one, to 223. In St. Martin Parish, new cases identified brought the total there to 8,308, an increase of eight. The number of deaths remained at 160.

In St. Mary Parish, new cases rose by eight, to 8,482, with deaths remaining at 214.

The vaccine tracker at the Mayo Clinic shows Louisiana with 52.5 percent of its population having had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, with 46.3 percent of the residents fully vaccinated. The state has also dropped in the ranking of most vaccinated states, going from seventh at the end of summer to fifth, with Arkansas passing by on the way out of the basement.

As of Sept. 29, unvaccinated individuals account for 85 percent of the new cases and 82 percent of the deaths from COVID-19, while the unvaccinated account for 83 percent of the current hospitalized cases.

As of Oct. 6, the state’s seven-day COVID-19 test percent positivity was at 3.1 percent, down from 3.7 percent on Sept. 29. 

In Iberia Parish, the seven-day test positivity average dropped dramatically, to 3.6 percent on Oct. 6, down half from 7.3 percent on Sept. 29. In St. Martin Parish, the percentage dropped to 3.8 percent on Oct. 6, down from 4.5 percent on Sept. 29. St. Mary Parish saw a 23 percent decrease, from 4.9 percent on Sept. 29 to 5.1 percent on Oct. 6.

New seven-day test positivity rates are released each Wednesday for the week ending seven days prior.

 

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.