NEW ORLEANS — There were 514 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in Louisiana on Wednesday, marking the lowest number of hospitalizations since March 25, 2020.
Louisiana marked the new miles stone just shy of a year from when the state first began reporting figures on coronavirus-related hospitalizations.
According to the Louisiana Department of Health, COVID-19 hospitalizations have significantly decreased in Louisiana after reaching record-setting peaks in the first week of January - 2,069 people were hospitalized on Jan. 7.
Since February began, the number of patients hospitalized has decreased daily with only a handful of exceptions.
At this time last year, the state was beginning to understand the true impact of Mardi Gras, an early super-spreader event that happened just before the first positive cases in New Orleans.
This year, the celebration was heavily restricted, with modified house floats and drive-by parades taking the place of more traditional events.
New Orleans Wednesday announced a loosening of COVID-19 restrictions because of the positive trends in the city, following a broader loosening into Phase 3 guidelines by the rest of the state.
Alongside the hospitalization decrease, 441 new cases were reported in Louisiana Thursday, and 16 new deaths.
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