Rapides Parish's COVID cases up 4.4%; Louisiana cases surge 10.6%

Mike Stucka
·4 min read

New coronavirus cases leaped in Louisiana in the week ending Sunday, rising 10.6% as 88,195 cases were reported. The previous week had 79,733 new cases of the virus that causes COVID-19.

Louisiana ranked 12th 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 5.8% from the week before, with 5,438,242 cases reported. With 1.4% of the country's population, Louisiana had 1.62% of the country's cases in the last week. Across the country, 39 states had more cases in the latest week than they did in the week before.

Many counties did not report during data during the Martin Luther King Jr. weekend, disrupting the latest week's statistics. That data is being compared to a week with backlogged cases and deaths from the New Year's holiday weekend. Week-to-week comparisons are skewed and these numbers will be unreliable even as they're accurate to what states reported.

Rapides Parish reported 1,858 cases and three deaths in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 1,779 cases and two deaths. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 26,513 cases and 488 deaths.

Avoyelles Parish reported 825 cases and zero deaths in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 509 cases and minus two deaths. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 9,013 cases and 179 deaths.

Grant Parish reported 278 cases and zero deaths in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 173 cases and one death. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 4,482 cases and 80 deaths.

Winn Parish reported 318 cases and zero deaths in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 201 cases and zero deaths. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 3,317 cases and 58 deaths.

Within Louisiana, the worst weekly outbreaks on a per-person basis were in West Feliciana Parish with 5,344 cases per 100,000 per week; East Feliciana Parish with 2,942; and East Baton Rouge Parish with 2,665. 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 11,728 cases; Jefferson Parish, with 8,585 cases; and Orleans Parish, with 7,102. Weekly case counts rose in 48 parishes from the previous week. The worst increases from the prior week's pace were in East Baton Rouge, Bossier and Ascension parishes.

>> See how your community has fared with recent coronavirus cases

Louisiana ranked 47th among states in share of people receiving at least one shot, with 58.2% of its residents at least partially vaccinated. The national rate is 74.6%, 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 Wednesday, Louisiana reported administering another 83,210 vaccine doses, including 20,914 first doses. In the previous week, the state administered 84,145 vaccine doses, including 21,805 first doses. In all, Louisiana reported it has administered 5,782,790 total doses.

Across Louisiana, cases fell in 16 parishes, with the best declines in Orleans Parish, with 7,102 cases from 10,168 a week earlier; in Jefferson Parish, with 8,585 cases from 9,879; and in Caddo Parish, with 4,785 cases from 5,292.

In Louisiana, 83 people were reported dead of COVID-19 in the week ending Sunday. In the week before that, 68 people were reported dead.

A total of 996,623 people in Louisiana have tested positive for the coronavirus since the pandemic began, and 15,137 people have died from the disease, Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the United States 65,699,947 people have tested positive and 850,605 people have died.

>> Track coronavirus cases across the United States

Louisiana's COVID-19 hospital admissions rising

USA TODAY analyzed federal hospital data as of Sunday, Jan. 16.

Likely COVID patients admitted in the state:

  • Last week: 2,805

  • The week before that: 2,474

  • Four weeks ago: 327

Likely COVID patients admitted in the nation:

  • Last week: 203,221

  • The week before that: 185,954

  • Four weeks ago: 90,739

Hospitals in 41 states reported more COVID-19 patients than a week earlier, while hospitals in 35 states had more COVID-19 patients in intensive-care beds. Hospitals in 43 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.

A COVID-19 patient on a ventilator is checked by Megan Lee, a resident nurse at Stormont Vail Health, inside the COVID-19 intensive care unit at the hospital in Topeka, Kansas, on Jan. 7.
A COVID-19 patient on a ventilator is checked by Megan Lee, a resident nurse at Stormont Vail Health, inside the COVID-19 intensive care unit at the hospital in Topeka, Kansas, on Jan. 7.

This article originally appeared on Alexandria Town Talk: Rapides Parish COVID cases increased by 1,858 this week