Five more victims added to Avoyelles COVID death toll Thursday

It was a report we suspected was coming, but had dared to hope that COVID-related deaths we had heard about were somehow included in recent reports and not still to be officially reported. That hope proved false.

Thursday's COVID update for Avoyelles Parish contained five additional fatalities, raising the parish's pandemic death toll to 146.

The number of tests was still lower than in recent daily reports -- only 243. While not unique for the parish, two-thirds were rapid result tests. Usually most results are from molecular lab tests.

The parish had 28 new cases for an overall one-day positive rate of 11.1 percent. For those who automatically assume the high percentage of rapid result tests is responsible for the high positive rate, think again.

There were 77 lab tests with 18 positive results for a 23 percent positive rate. There were 166 rapid result tests with 10 infections diagnosed, a 6 percent positive rate.

All five of the deaths included in this report were diagnosed with COVID using a molecular lab test. Overall 135 deaths and 4,950 cases were identified by lab tests while 11 deaths and 1,473 cases are in the rapid test group.

The parish's pandemic totals as of Thursday are 6,423 cases and 146 deaths since March 2020. The statewide totals as of Thursday were 694,275 cases and 12,656 deaths.

Upcoming benchmarks for Avoyelles would be 6,500 cases and 150 deaths. Both could be reached soon, if not in Friday's report then in the four-day report on Tuesday following the Labor Day holiday. The state's next landmarks would be 700,000 cases and 13,000 deaths. Those are also likely to be reached by next Tuesday's report.