Lincoln Parish adds another virus death

Lincoln Parish has recorded yet another death from COVID-19.

Statistics released at noon Friday by the Louisiana Department of Health show 29 parish residents have now succumbed to the respiratory illness caused by the novel coronavirus.

Lincoln Parish also added 12 new cases from Thursday to Friday for a total of 766. The parish has seen 208 additional positive cases of CO-VID-19 over the past 18 days, along with nine deaths over the period.

Those numbers don’t necessarily mean all of the cases are still active. The state does not report parish-by-parish recoveries. The total case number is cumulative, meaning it dates back to the first COVID-19 cases reported in the parish in March; the figure also includes the 29 deaths.

Ouachita Parish still has the highest count of positive cases in the area with 4,787 as of noon on Friday. Ouachita has a total of 111 deaths and has seen 1,144 new cases since July 20.

Statewide, Louisiana saw 1,500 new COVID-19 cases and an additional 61 deaths, according to LDH.

Louisiana remains in Phase Two of reopening, with a mask mandate, closure of bars to onpremises consumption and limit on gatherings of more than 50 people through Aug. 28.