NEW ORLEANS — After three days of watching the number of coronavirus patients increase in Louisiana's hospitals, the state reported a welcomed drop in total hospitalizations Wednesday.
As of June 17, there were 579 patients in the hospital for COVID-19 treatment statewide, down nine patients from Tuesday's daily report from the Louisiana Department of Health.
Leading up to Wednesday's report, the LDH had reported three straight days of an increasing total of patients in the hospital with the disease. It was the first consecutive increase of three or more days since April 13, when COVID-19 hospitalizations peaked at 2,134 patients statewide.
The LDH also reported more than 900 new confirmed cases of the virus Wednesday, but said about 130 of those were backlogged and had actually been tested in the beginning of April.
Twenty new coronavirus-related deaths were reported Wednesday, and patients being treated with ventilators also increased by six.
It is still be too soon to determine if the total of hospitalizations will drop again Thursday or rise once again. Texas and nearly 20 other states have reportedly seen a new surge in the virus after lifting coronavirus restrictions. Health experts say mass gatherings for protests are likely to play a role in the spread of the virus.
Below are the daily coronavirus statistics for Wednesday, June 17 from the Louisiana Department of Health. Changes from the day before are noted:
- Cases: 48,634 (+928)
- Deaths: 2,950 (+20)
- Patients in hospitals: 579 (-9)
- Patients on ventilators: 83 (+6)
- Recoveries: 37,017 (updated on Mondays)
- Total tests performed: 545,221 (+12,504)
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