Louisiana Reports Record Number of COVID-19 Deaths

Louisiana reported 139 coronavirus-related deaths on Tuesday – the highest reported death toll in the state in a single day since the start of the pandemic, the Louisiana Department of Health tweeted. The previous record, 129 deaths, was reported on April 14, 2020.

“Every death is a terrible loss, especially since we know that most COVID deaths can now be prevented with safe and effective vaccines,” Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards said. tweeted.

The state’s health department reported 3,814 new cases of the virus on Tuesday, noting an increase in all age groups within the state. The largest percentage increase in cases was among people aged 5 to 17.

As of Tuesday, 2,856 patients are hospitalized with COVID-19 in Louisiana and 480 patients are on ventilators. Unvaccinated people accounted for 91% of current COVID hospitalizations. Cumulative death toll from COVID-19 in state topped 12,000 on Tuesday, state health department says tweeted. Only 11.14% of intensive care unit beds are available statewide, according to data from the US Department of Health and Human Services.

The state’s health department has found that the virus most often spreads within communities, rather than in places of gathering such as nursing homes. The highly transmissible Delta variant of the virus also contributed to the fourth wave of the virus in Louisiana.

The Delta variant is different from the original strains of COVID. It is more than twice as transmissible, and although vaccination reduces the chances of getting infected with COVID, fully vaccinated people infected with Delta can transmit the virus to others. #lagov pic.twitter.com/4cm1XaDlAl

– John Bel Edwards (@LouisianaGov) August 2, 2021

Edwards applauded the Food and Drug Administration on Monday for his approval Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine and urged eligible residents who have not already done so to get vaccinated.

“It is my fervent hope that any Louisianans who are awaiting FDA approval for the vaccine will take steps to receive their vaccine immediately,” he said in a statement.

To date, 40% of Louisiana’s population is fully vaccinated, one of the lowest rates in the country.

On August 2, Edwards reinstated a temporary mask mandate inside the state for vaccinated and unvaccinated residents until September 1. At the time, he said that based on case growth rate, percentage of positive cases and hospitalizations, the state was in its worst COVID-19 surge.

“We can end this nightmare,” Edwards said in a statement this month. “But we’re all going to have to work together to do it.”