COVID death toll, cases continue to climb

The death toll from COVID-19 continues to climb in Lincoln Parish as do confirmed cases of the respiratory illness.

Wednesday’s numbers from the Louisiana Department of Health now show 62 parish residents have succumbed to the virus since April. Confirmed cases of COVID-19 now stand at 2,511.

That’s an increase of 108 cases and one death in a week’s time.

The total case count is cumulative, meaning it dates back to March, when the first local cases were diagnosed, and includes the 62 deaths, as well as people who currently are ill and those who have recovered.

Wednesday’s grim statistics come even as hospitals in north Louisiana began receiving their first doses of the

Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. Frontline workers at Ruston’s Northern Louisiana Medical Center are expected to get their initial injections this week.

According to the LDH, 733 of the 1,355 hospital beds in the Lincoln Parish-inclusive Region 8 are in use, though not all are COVID patients. Forty of the region’s 219 ventilators are also in use, as are 98 of the 124 ICU beds.

Gov. John Bel Edwards is expected to hold a press conference today updating Louisiana’s response to COVID-19.

Just before Thanksgiving, Louisiana stepped back into a modified Phase 2 order as COVID cases and hospitalizations rose statewide. That order expires Wednesday; however, Edwards has hinted he may leave it in place through the end of the year.