LDH data: New COVID-19 cases outpace presumed recoveries for first time since July
BATON ROUGE, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – The number of new confirmed COVID-19 cases outpaced presumed recoveries in Louisiana last week for the first since late July.
The Louisiana Department of Health updates the number of presumed recoveries weekly. According to the data updated Wednesday, 165,282 people confirmed to have had the coronavirus were presumed recovered as of Monday, October 19. That is 3,490 more presumed recoveries since last week, but it is 373 fewer recoveries than the 3,863 new cases reported over the same period.
According to the state department of health, a person is presumed recovered if:
- it has been more than 14 days since he/she tested positive and he/she is not currently in the hospital or deceased (when hospital status is known), or
- it has been more than 21 days since he/she tested positive and he/she is not deceased (when hospital status is unknown).
Daily cases and deaths
Louisiana has reported 744 newly confirmed COVID-19 cases and 12 more deaths since Tuesday, bringing the cumulative number of cases statewide to 177,399 and total deaths to 5,584.
Also according to the LDH:
- Because of the daily removal of newly identified duplicates and out of state cases, the new case increase may not match the difference between today’s and yesterday's total case count.
- The collection dates for most of these cases fall between October 13 and October 20, 2020.
- 98% of the cases reported to the state today were community spread.
- 2% of the cases reported to the state today were in congregate settings.
- People aged 29 and under represent 35% of these cases. 26% are individuals between 18-29.
- The newly confirmed cases since Tuesday came from the results of 14,302 tests reported to the state, bringing the total number of tests to 2,627,671.
Hospitalizations
LDH data show 608 patients hospitalized with coronavirus statewide as of Tuesday, October 20, which is the most recent data available. Of those, 68 were on mechanical ventilators. There were 180 patients hospitalized in Region 7, with 13 on mechanical ventilators.
NWLA numbers
With Wednesday's update, the total number of confirmed cases in Northwest Louisiana has risen to 20,198 and there are 702 deaths reported in the region.
Of the 124 new cases reported in the region, 55 were in Caddo Parish and 40 were in Bossier. Caddo also reported two new deaths. Natchitoches added 13 new cases Wednesday, De Soto five, Natchitoches and Sabine three each, and Bienville and Red River two each. Webster Parish reported one new case.
As of midday, the LDH was reporting the following data on confirmed cases, deaths, and testing in Region 7:
- Caddo – 9,784 case(s) | 390 death(s) | 669 state tests | 174,459 commercial tests
- Bossier – 4,023 case(s) | 117 death(s) | 305 state tests | 73,388 commercial tests
- De Soto – 1,000 case(s) | 35 death(s) | 101 state tests | 15,061 commercial tests
- Webster – 1,430 case(s) | 38 death(s) | 179 state tests | 25,066 commercial tests
- Claiborne – 593 case(s) | 24 death(s) | 242 state tests | 9,844 commercial tests
- Bienville – 581 case(s) | 33 death(s) | 378 state tests | 11,169 commercial tests
- Natchitoches – 1,422 case(s) | 27 death(s) | 743 state tests | 19,334 commercial tests
- Sabine – 960 case(s) | 14 death(s) | 231 state tests | 13,543 commercial tests
- Red River – 405 case(s) | 24 death(s) | 651 state tests | 4,120 commercial tests
ArkLaTex numbers
There are now 33,580 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the ArkLaTex and 1,107 deaths reported.
For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up within weeks. For some, especially older adults and those with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness and be life-threatening.