Iberville Parish reports 14 new COVID cases; Louisiana cases surge 50.4%
New coronavirus cases leaped in Louisiana in the week ending Sunday, rising 50.4% as 4,733 cases were reported. The previous week had 3,146 new cases of the virus that causes COVID-19.
Louisiana ranked 47th 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 increased 9.6% from the week before, with 913,491 cases reported. With 1.4% of the country's population, Louisiana had 0.52% of the country's cases in the last week. Across the country, 22 states had more cases in the latest week than they did in the week before.
Iberville Parish reported 14 cases and zero deaths in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 18 cases and one death. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 5,925 cases and 129 deaths.
Within Louisiana, the worst weekly outbreaks on a per-person basis were in East Carroll Parish with 408 cases per 100,000 per week; Union Parish with 244; and Orleans Parish with 239. 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 Orleans Parish, with 933 cases; Jefferson Parish, with 499 cases; and East Baton Rouge Parish, with 319. Weekly case counts rose in 40 parishes from the previous week. The worst increases from the prior week's pace were in Orleans, Jefferson and St. Tammany parishes.
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Louisiana ranked 47th among states in share of people receiving at least one shot, with 56.8% of its residents at least partially vaccinated. The national rate is 72.8%, a USA TODAY analysis of CDC data shows. The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, which are the most used in the United States, require two doses administered a few weeks apart.
In the week ending Sunday, Louisiana reported administering another 88,792 vaccine doses, including 16,804 first doses. In the previous week, the state administered 335,784 vaccine doses, including 74,642 first doses. In all, Louisiana reported it has administered 5,505,617 total doses.
Across Louisiana, cases fell in 24 parishes, with the best declines in Iberia Parish, with 32 cases from 64 a week earlier; in Ouachita Parish, with 147 cases from 179; and in Franklin Parish, with 9 cases from 35.
In Louisiana, 47 people were reported dead of COVID-19 in the week ending Sunday. In the week before that, 51 people were reported dead.
A total of 780,668 people in Louisiana have tested positive for the coronavirus since the pandemic began, and 14,924 people have died from the disease, Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the United States 50,846,828 people have tested positive and 806,439 people have died.
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Louisiana's COVID-19 hospital admissions rising
USA TODAY analyzed federal hospital data as of Sunday, Dec. 19.
Likely COVID patients admitted in the state:
- Last week: 329
- The week before that: 298
- Four weeks ago: 265
Likely COVID patients admitted in the nation:
- Last week: 92,085
- The week before that: 91,676
- Four weeks ago: 75,048
Hospitals in 28 states reported more COVID-19 patients than a week earlier, while hospitals in 30 states had more COVID-19 patients in intensive-care beds. Hospitals in 23 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.
