Hospitalizations, ventilator use continue to fall

Published 12:08 pm Thursday, April 30, 2020

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The number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients and patients on ventilators in the state of Louisiana have fallen to their lowest levels in nearly a month, according to statistics released Thursday by the Louisiana Department of Health.

On Thursday at noon, the LDH reported that the state had 1,601 patients in hospitals, and 231 of those patients required ventilators. On Wednesday, the state had reported 1,629 hospitalized patients, and 244 ventilators in use.

The number of hospitalized patients is at its lowest count since April 1, when there were 1,498 hospitalizations reported. The state’s peak so far was on April 12, when there were 2,084 COVID-19 patients in hospitals.

The number of ventilators in use is at its lowest count since March 25, when there were 193 ventilators reported as in use. The state’s peak so far was on April 4, when there were 571 ventilators reported as in use.

On Thursday, the LDH said that there had been 28,001 cases of COVID-19 reported, with 1,862 deaths. On Wednesday, there had been 27,660 cases and 1,802 deaths reported.

The increase between Wednesday’s statewide update and Thursday’s update was an additional 341 cases and an additional 60 deaths.

Washington Parish had reported 262 cases and 18 deaths, according to the Thursday update. On Wednesday, the parish had reported 261 cases and 18 deaths.

There had been 1,220 cases in St. Tammany Parish, with 110 deaths (an additional 15 cases and an additional two deaths compared to Wednesday), and 553 cases in Tangipahoa Parish, with 22 deaths (an additional four cases and an additional single death compared to Wednesday).

There had been 1,410 COVID-19 tests reported from Washington Parish, as of Thursday’s update.

The state has also begun reporting the number of “presumed recovered” cases. Its first update was on April 22, when it reported 14,927 such cases. Thursday’s report listed 17,303 presumed reported cases as of April 26 (Sunday).

After a recent review of its statistics, the state has also resumed reporting statewide testing numbers. On Thursday, the LDH reported 7,846 tests had been completed by the state laboratory, and an additional 153,463 tests had been reported from commercial laboratories — a total of 161,309 tests. The state reported a total of 156,568 tests in Wednesday’s report.

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