Ascension Parish reported 170 additional COVID-19 cases this week – Weekly Citizen

Mike Stucka USA TODAY NETWORK| Gonzales Weekly Citizen

New coronavirus cases leaped in Louisiana in the week ending Sunday, rising 10.4% as 5,611 cases were reported. The previous week had 5,083 new cases of the virus that causes COVID-19.

Louisiana ranked 39th 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 decreased 11.3% from the week before, with 702,236 cases reported. With 1.4% of the country's population, Louisiana had 0.8% of the country's cases in the last week. Across the country, 32 states had more cases in the latest week than they did in the week before.

Ascension Parish reported 170 cases and zero deaths in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 96 cases and zero deaths. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 33,573 cases and 293 deaths.

Within Louisiana, the worst weekly outbreaks on a per-person basis were in Orleans Parish with 258 cases per 100,000 per week; St. Charles Parish with 218; and Iberville Parish with 206. 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 1,007 cases; Jefferson Parish, with 878 cases; and East Baton Rouge Parish, with 591. Weekly case counts rose in 43 parishes from the previous week. The worst increases from the prior week's pace were in Ascension, Calcasieu and Jefferson parishes.

>> 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 19 parishes, with the best declines in Orleans Parish, with 1,007 cases from 1,147 a week earlier; in St. Martin Parish, with 38 cases from 58; and in Webster Parish, with 30 cases from 46.

In Louisiana, 12 people were reported dead of COVID-19 in the week ending Sunday. In the week before that, 18 people were reported dead.

A total of 1,189,500 people in Louisiana have tested positive for the coronavirus since the pandemic began, and 17,325 people have died from the disease, Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the United States 83,984,644 people have tested positive and 1,004,733 people have died.

>> Track coronavirus cases across the United States

USA TODAY analyzed federal hospital data as of Sunday, May 29.

Likely COVID patients admitted in the state:

Likely COVID patients admitted in the nation:

Hospitals in 34 states reported more COVID-19 patients than a week earlier, while hospitals in 33 states had more COVID-19 patients in intensive-care beds. Hospitals in 35 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.

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Ascension Parish reported 170 additional COVID-19 cases this week - Weekly Citizen