NEW ORLEANS — As Louisiana reports thousands of new COVID-19 cases along with dozens of deaths and new hospitalizations, there may be some sign that the Omicron surge is easing.
The Louisiana Department of Health on Wednesday reported 13,069 new cases and 52 deaths linked to COVID-19 since the previous day. On Tuesday, Louisiana surpassed 1 million COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began. In total, 15,246 deaths in Louisiana have been linked to COVID-19.
But there is some good news: the percentage of tests returning positive slightly decreased last week. According to the LDH, about 27.5% of tests collected between Jan. 6 and Jan. 12 were positive compared to about 29% of tests in the week prior.
In New Orleans, the percent positivity dropped to 18.2% compared to 24.7% between Dec. 30 and Jan. 5. Percent positivity also dropped in eight of southeast Louisiana’s twelves parishes.
COVID-19 hospitalizations continued to rise on Tuesday, adding 121 more patients to a total of 2,304 hospitalizations. Louisiana was reporting about 200 hospitalizations in mid-December. The highest number of hospitalizations was 3,022 set amid the Delta variant’s surge through the state.
Oschner Health System, Louisiana's largest healthcare system, reports that the number of hospitalizations in its system is decreasing across the state. CEO Warner Thomas said that the reduction is mostly seen in New Orleans, with the rest of the state lagging behind.
"Our initial read is that we may have peaked around January 9, but once again we have to be very careful," Thomas told WWL-TV's Eyewitness Morning News.
Percent Positivity by Parish
Below is a list of percent positivity for southeast Louisiana parishes. ( Data in parenthesis is for prior week)
For figures on other Louisiana parishes, click here to go to the Louisiana Department of Health's website.
Decreasing:
- Jefferson: 30.6 (35.1)
- Orleans: 18.2 (24.7)
- Plaquemines: 32.8 (34.4)
- St. Bernard: 31 (33.7)
- St. Charles: 33.5 (37.8)
- St. James: 27.4 (36)
- St. John the Baptist: 33.3 (38.7)
- Terrebonne: 29.2 (29.9)
Increasing:
- Lafourche: 30.2 (27.8)
- St. Tammany: 33.8 (32.7)
- Tangipahoa: 26.8 (24.1)
- Washington: 28.1 (26.4)
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