Louisiana Department of Health COVID-19 Updates for April 20

BATON ROUGE — The Louisiana Department of Health has updated its website to reflect the latest number of COVID-19 positives and will continue to update its website at noon each day. As of noon on April 20, the Department reports a total of 24,523 positive cases.

Commercial testing data reported to LDH

The Department of Health is conducting a comprehensive review of commercial testing data reported to the state. Commercial testing data will be updated upon completion of this review. This does not impact the number of positive cases reported. Positive cases reported are updated and accurate.

Hospitalization

A total of 1,794 COVID-19 patients are currently hospitalized; of those, 332 patients require ventilation. Information on available hospital beds, ICU beds, and hospital vents is on the LDH dashboard.

Deaths

The Department reports a total of 1,328 deaths. Deaths are listed on the LDH dashboard by parish under the by parish tab and information by age can be found on the by age tab.
As of April 20, 56.25% of COVID-19 deaths to date were among African American residents and 34.34% were among white residents. The most common underlying conditions among COVID-19 deaths to date are hypertension, diabetes and chronic kidney disease. This data is updated every Monday.

Nursing homes and other adult residential facilities

COVID-19 cases have been reported by 201 nursing homes and other adult residential facilities in Louisiana. A total of 2,034 COVID cases have been reported among residents of these facilities; 403 COVID-19 deaths have been reported among residents of these facilities. This category includes nursing homes, assisted living facilities, inpatient psych/behavioral health and inpatient drug treatment facilities. These facilities care for thousands of Louisianans, including older people and those with underlying medical conditions that put them at higher risk for complications and death from COVID-19. This does not include other adult residential settings.
In many cases, a resident of an adult residential facility is tested and diagnosed with COVID-19 by a provider outside of the long-term care facility. The facilities have begun self-reporting positive cases to the Department of Health. Due to the volume, the Department is no longer listing individual facilities. The Department continues to work with facilities to minimize the spread of the illness and protect residents and staff. Facilities have been given guidance to minimize the spread of illness.

The Department will update the number of adult residential facilities with COVID-19 cases, the number of residents who are confirmed to have COVID-19 and the number of deaths among these residents on Mondays and Wednesdays.