St. Landry Parish reports 28 new COVID cases; Louisiana cases surge 54.7%

Mike Stucka USA TODAY NETWORK

New coronavirus cases leaped in Louisiana in the week ending Sunday, rising 54.7% as 3,346 cases were reported. The previous week had 2,163 new cases of the virus that causes COVID-19.

Louisiana ranked 40th 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 21.4% from the week before, with 605,127 cases reported. With 1.4% of the country's population, Louisiana had 0.55% of the country's cases in the last week. Across the country, 47 states had more cases in the latest week than they did in the week before.

St. Landry Parish reported 28 cases and zero deaths in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 19 cases and zero deaths. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 21,152 cases and 416 deaths.

Within Louisiana, the worst weekly outbreaks on a per-person basis were in Orleans Parish with 230 cases per 100,000 per week; Plaquemines Parish with 160; and St. Bernard Parish with 129. 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 Orleans Parish, with 896 cases; Jefferson Parish, with 557 cases; and East Baton Rouge Parish, with 313. Weekly case counts rose in 45 parishes from the previous week. The worst increases from the prior week's pace were in Orleans, Jefferson and East Baton Rouge parishes.

Making Sacrifices 2 of 8
Dimitri screams with delight when he gets the answer.

Luis and Irene Ferrolho have spent most of the past 15 months of the pandemic at home with their children, twins Alexandra and Dimitri, 8 years old. Because Dimitri suffers from severe disability due to being born premature, they can’t risk exposure to the Covid-19 virus. Irene had to quit her job and help the children with virtual learning and therapy and Luis does his work online from home. While they have grown closer to each other, they do look forward to less isolation when it is safer for Dimitri

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

Louisiana ranked 48th among states in share of people receiving at least one shot, with 61% of its residents at least partially vaccinated. The national rate is 77.7%, 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 19,025 vaccine doses, including 2,727 first doses. In the previous week, the state administered 23,113 vaccine doses, including 3,305 first doses. In all, Louisiana reported it has administered 6,248,403 total doses.

Across Louisiana, cases fell in 11 parishes, with the best declines in Iberville Parish, with 5 cases from 11 a week earlier; in Livingston Parish, with 37 cases from 42; and in Morehouse Parish, with 6 cases from 10.

In Louisiana, 19 people were reported dead of COVID-19 in the week ending Sunday. In the week before that, 28 people were reported dead.

A total of 1,178,806 people in Louisiana have tested positive for the coronavirus since the pandemic began, and 17,295 people have died from the disease, Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the United States 82,468,606 people have tested positive and 999,602 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, May 15.

Likely COVID patients admitted in the state:

Last week: 282
The week before that: 260
Four weeks ago: 173

Likely COVID patients admitted in the nation:

Last week: 49,753
The week before that: 44,912
Four weeks ago: 37,527

Hospitals in 45 states reported more COVID-19 patients than a week earlier, while hospitals in 29 states had more COVID-19 patients in intensive-care beds. Hospitals in 41 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.