State COVID tests backlog has less impact on Thursday report than feared

When the Louisiana Department of Health noted today's COVID update included a backlog of test results dating back to Nov. 9, it was understandable to expect sky-high numbers for Avoyelles Parish. It is a sign of the times that when there were "only" 37 new cases in the Thursday report that parish residents could breathe a sigh of relief.

The state said Thursday's statewide report included a backlog of 916 cases and 4,963 tests. It is not known how many of Avoyelles' 497 tests and 37 cases on Thursday were new results and how many were from November and December.

Of those numbers, 26 out of 323 molecular test results were positive and 11 of 84 antigen tests were positive.

There were no additional deaths since Wednesday's report.

Avoyelles' pandemic totals as of Thursday are 48,035 tests (45,962/2,073), 3,118 cases (2,783/325) and 98 deaths (93/5). The state totals are 4,8 million total tests, 361,148 total cases and 8,080 COVID-diagnosed deaths since March..