NEW ORLEANS — The number of coronavirus cases in hard-hit Louisiana is rising by more than 1,000 a day as test results begin to pour in, although the rate of infection increase slowed a bit Wednesday, according to the state Department of Health.
As of noon Wednesday, the state had recorded 6,424 positive cases of the virus, an increase of 22% from the previous day. That is below Tuesday’s jump of 30% but still well above the rates the state saw late last week.
Of that total, 1,498 people, or 23%, have required hospitalization, and the percentage of them needing ventilators has held steady at about one-third, the health department said.
The numbers partly reflect increased testing, particularly those done outside of state labs. The results are coming in roughly five to seven days after they were administered, compared to a much faster turnaround for state lab results, the health department said. More than 45,600 Louisiana residents had test results Wednesday, more than double those it had in hand March 26.
The virus was responsible for 273 deaths as of Wednesday, according to the health department, with many of those patients suffering from pre-existing conditions such as diabetes, kidney disease, obesity or cardiac issues.
Louisiana’s figures, particularly in New Orleans and adjoining Jefferson Parish, have made the state a hotspot of the virus that first infected people in Wuhan, China, in December.
Between March 23 and March 30, the rate of infection increases — while straining New Orleans’ health care infrastructure — ranked 32nd in a list of the 50 states plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, according to data maintained by Johns Hopkins Center for Systems Science and Engineering.
Louisiana saw coronavirus infections jump by 243% during that period, below the increases of several states with thousands of cases, such as New Jersey (#7 with 485% increase); Michigan (#13 with a 389% increase); and Florida (#16 with a 346% increase).
Louisiana’s much lower population of 4.7 million, however, means the coronavirus has packed a disproportionate punch here when compared to those other states.
• James Varney can be reached at jvarney@washingtontimes.com.
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