State’s ventilator use drops below 400

Published 12:07 pm Thursday, April 16, 2020

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The state saw a decrease Thursday in both the number of COVID-19 patients in hospitals and the number of hospital patients on ventilators, according to statistics released by the Louisiana Department of Health.

The LDH said that there were 1,914 patients in hospitals, with 396 of those on ventilators, in Thursday’s daily report. On Wednesday, the state reported 1,943 patients and 425 on ventilators, and on Tuesday it reported 1,977 patients with 436 ventilators in use.

On Thursday, the LDH reported that there had been 22,532 cases of COVID-19 reported, with 1,156 deaths. On Wednesday, there had been 21,951 cases and 1,103 deaths reported.

The increase between Wednesday’s statewide update and Thursday’s update was an additional 581 cases and an additional 53 deaths.

Washington Parish had reported 179 cases and 10 deaths, according to the Thursday update. On Wednesday, the parish had reported 173 cases and 10 deaths.

There had been 944 cases in St. Tammany Parish, with 60 deaths, and 422 cases in Tangipahoa Parish, with 16 deaths.

The LDH said at noon Thursday that there had been 5,968 tests completed by the state laboratory, and another 120,618 tests reported to the state by commercial labs — a total of 126,586 tests. There had been 121,928 tests reported in Wednesday’s update.

There had been 490 tests reported from Washington Parish, as of Thursday’s update.

Comparing deaths to cases, the state reported 22,532 cases and 1,103 deaths — a ratio of 4.8 percent. Comparing overall tests to cases/positive tests, the state reported 126,586 tests and 22,532 cases — a ratio of 17.8 percent.

The LDH releases updated statistics each day at approximately noon. For complete statistics, visit the LDH online at ldh.la.gov/coronavirus.