The Louisiana Department of Health reported a seventh death related to COVID-19, the third death announced Wednesday.

The 72-year-old individual was a Jefferson Parish resident with no known connection to the Lambeth House, a retirement home in New Orleans where four other victims of the coronavirus lived. 

The state’s fifth and sixth COVID-19 related deaths, reported earlier on Wednesday, were both residents of Lambeth House.

This is the first COVID-19 death in Jefferson Parish and the first known COVID-19 death in Louisiana outside of Orleans Parish.

The first two deaths from the COVID-19 disease occurred last week in New Orleans. Both victims were patients in their 50s with underlying conditions at Touro Infirmary in New Orleans. 

The next four victims were all residents of Lambeth House, the location of the only known cluster of COVID-19 cases in Louisiana. Those patients were all over 80 years old.

The number of cases identified through the state’s reference lab rose by 40 during the day Wednesday, to 280 at the Louisiana Department of Health 5:30 p.m. update. That marks a rise of 84 cases over the previous 24-hour period.

The increase marks a 42-percent jump in the number of known cases in the state.

The number of tests administered at the state lab also increased, from 531 Tuesday evening to 703 Wednesday evening. That number does not include tests from commercial labs or other drive-through testing stations.

As more testing sites come online, the number of known infections in the state will likely continue to rise quickly.

There were no cases reported outside the 13 parishes previously identified, but two new cases are still under investigation to determine the parish of residence of the two patients.

Statistics released Wednesday show that the largest age group of known COVID-19 cases is made up of people between 40 and 49 years of age, with 67 cases. The second-largest group is a tie between the 50 to 59 range and the 60 to 69 age range, with 55 cases apiece. They are followed by the 70 and above group at 49 cases and the 30 to 39 range with 40 cases.

For the first time, the chart includes 15 cases in the 18 to 29 age group. 

The identified cases so far are predominantly in female patients, with 54 percent to 46 percent for males.

The breakdown of cases by parish of the patient’s residence is as follows:

• Parish under investigation –    2 cases

• Ascension – 1 case

• Bossier – 2 cases

• Caddo – 6 cases

• East Baton Rouge – 3 cases

• Jefferson – 45 cases, 1 death

• Lafourche – 3 cases

• Orleans – 196 cases, 6 deaths

• St. Bernard – 3 cases

• St. Charles – 3 cases

• St. John the Baptist – 2 cases

• St. Tammany – 10 cases

• Terrebonne – 3 cases

• Washington – 1 case