Ascension Parish's COVID cases up 16.9%; Louisiana cases fall 4.8%
Louisiana reported 11,074 new cases of coronavirus in the week ending Sunday, down 4.8% from the previous week. The previous week had 11,634 new cases of the virus that causes COVID-19.
Louisiana ranked seventh among the states where coronavirus was spreading the fastest on a per-person basis, a USA TODAY Network analysis of Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the latest week coronavirus cases in the United States decreased 17.1% from the week before, with 543,317 cases reported. With 1.4% of the country's population, Louisiana had 2.04% of the country's cases in the last week. Across the country, 16 states had more cases in the latest week than they did in the week before.
The Labor Day holiday may have altered how many people can get tested and when, and when governments report testing results and deaths. This will skew week-to-week comparisons.
Johns Hopkins University has been getting data on an erratic schedule from Louisiana, skewing week-to-week comparisons.
Ascension Parish reported 359 cases and zero deaths in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 307 cases and one death. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 39,538 cases and 301 deaths.
Across Louisiana, cases fell in 37 parishes, with the best declines in Jefferson Parish, with 687 cases from 856 a week earlier; in Orleans Parish, with 532 cases from 699; and in St. Tammany Parish, with 595 cases from 756.
>> See how your community has fared with recent coronavirus cases
Within Louisiana, the worst weekly outbreaks on a per-person basis were in Franklin Parish with 1,039 cases per 100,000 per week; Winn Parish with 503; and Richland Parish with 497. The Centers for Disease Control says high levels of community transmission begin at 100 cases per 100,000 per week.
Adding the most new cases overall were East Baton Rouge Parish, with 1,001 cases; Caddo Parish, with 712 cases; and Jefferson Parish, with 687. Weekly case counts rose in 25 parishes from the previous week. The worst increases from the prior week's pace were in Ouachita, East Baton Rouge and Franklin parishes.
In Louisiana, 34 people were reported dead of COVID-19 in the week ending Sunday. In the week before that, 66 people were reported dead.
A total of 1,433,525 people in Louisiana have tested positive for the coronavirus since the pandemic began, and 17,877 people have died from the disease, Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the United States 94,748,404 people have tested positive and 1,047,498 people have died.
>> Track coronavirus cases across the United States
Louisiana's COVID-19 hospital admissions staying flat
USA TODAY analyzed federal hospital data as of Sunday, Sept. 4. Likely COVID patients admitted in the state:
- Last week: 791
- The week before that: 798
- Four weeks ago: 990
Likely COVID patients admitted in the nation:
- Last week: 63,337
- The week before that: 64,048
- Four weeks ago: 71,125
Hospitals in 10 states reported more COVID-19 patients than a week earlier, while hospitals in 15 states had more COVID-19 patients in intensive-care beds. Hospitals in 21 states admitted more COVID-19 patients in the latest week than a week prior, the USA TODAY analysis of U.S. Health and Human Services data shows.
The USA TODAY Network is publishing localized versions of this story on its news sites across the country, generated with data from Johns Hopkins University and the Centers for Disease Control. If you have questions about the data or the story, contact Mike Stucka at mstucka@gannett.com.