NEW ORLEANS — It appears the Louisiana Department of Health's coronavirus reporting issues from over the weekend have cleared, as 640 new cases out of a substantial 15,000 new tests were reported Monday.
Tragically, 18 new deaths were also reported statewide Monday, bringing the total to nearly 2,600. However, the number of recovered COVID-19 patients also grew to 28,700, meaning 76% of all coronavirus cases in Louisiana have ended in recovery.
Continuing "server issues" lowered Sunday's new coronavirus numbers, with only about a quarter of the usual test results coming in, making the new data artificially low.
On Monday, though, LDH officials said they had resolved the problems and said the daily count included more than 95% of the labs that were left out over the weekend.
As it stands, the anticipated spike following the incomplete testing is relatively small -- 640 new cases out of 14,862 new tests is in line with the percentage gain of cases in the past weeks.
Health officials said last week to expect an increase in total cases as testing numbers ramp up across the state.
Here are the latest numbers from the Louisiana Department of Health as of Monday, May 25, 2020.
- Deaths: 2,585 (+18)
- Cases Reported: 37,809 (+640)
- Patients in Hospitals: 847 (+34)
- Patients on Ventilators: 102 (no change)
- Presumed Recovered: 28,700 (+2,451)
- Total Tests Performed: 330,898 (+14,862)
Like every aspect of the pandemic response, the LDH's reporting of COVID-19 numbers has faced growing pains and scrutiny, largely due to the lag between testing dates and when the cases are confirmed.
After meeting with President Donald Trump in Washington, Gov. John Bel Edwards said at the start of May that Louisiana's goal was to conduct 200,000 coronavirus tests monthly.
While that goal may not quite be reached, testing has rapidly increased statewide this month, as the LDH continues to backtrack unreported tests and add them to the system to better track the virus.
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