COVID-19 in schools: Take a look at cases reported in Terrebonne, Lafourche parishes

Students have been in class for only a few weeks but more than 300 COVID-19 cases for K-12 students have been reported in each of Lafourche and Terrebonne parishes.

So far this school year, Lafourche ranks fourth of the top five parishes with the highest totals in student cases, with 337, according to the most recent data published by the Louisiana Department of Health. Although not in the top five, Terrebonne Parish doesn't fall far behind, with 306 total student cases.

COVID-19 in schools: Louisiana Department of Health issues Aug. 25 report

LDH paused its data collection for kids in K-12 schools over the summer but resumed the week of Aug. 9. This data is published each Wednesday and the totals have been reset for the beginning of the school year.

For the week of Aug. 9-15, Lafourche Parish had 29 schools reporting 21 faculty/staff/volunteer cases and 158 student cases. Terrebonne Parish had 13 schools reporting data with 14 faculty/staff/volunteer cases and 50 student cases.

The week of Aug. 16-22, both parishes saw a rise in each category. Lafourche Parish had 32 schools reporting data with 23 adult cases and 179 student cases. Terrebonne Parish had 27 schools reporting with 25 adult cases and 249 student cases.

Take a look at the line graph below. This story continues beneath the graph.

COVID-19 cases in youth across the state

On Wednesday, LDH reported 110 COVID-19 deaths since the day prior, which includes a child under the age of one. LDH said Wednesday that, in total, 11 children younger than 18 have died in Louisiana, with the last death in a child reported six months ago.

“Each COVID-19 death in Louisiana has been heart wrenching, but the loss of such a young child, who could not be vaccinated yet, is tragic and a stark reminder of the difficult circumstance we are in throughout Louisiana," Gov. John Bel Edwards said in a statement on Wednesday. "Right now, we are seeing younger people hospitalized. They are getting sicker than in the previous surge and, unfortunately some of them may die."

Edwards said 63 pediatric COVID-19 patients were hospitalized last week across the state.

Ochsner Health: More than 5K surgeries, procedures delayed since July because of COVID-19

Earlier this week, Dr. Sandra Kemmerly, System Medical Director of Hospital Quality at Ochsner Health, said children under the age of 12 cannot be vaccinated, so it's important that the adults, as well as others who are able, to get vaccinated to protect the children around them.

"We are concerned about the number of pediatric cases we're seeing with the delta variant," Kemmerly said.

-- Emily Enfinger is a reporter for The Courier and the Daily Comet. Follow her on Twitter at @EmilyEnfinger. Email Emily at eenfinger@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on The Courier: See how many COVID-19 cases have been reported in local schools