Parish COVID-19 death count hits 50

Fifty Lincoln Parish residents have now died from COVID-19, according to the latest figures released by the Louisiana Department of Health.

On Tuesday, LDH reported what it said was the parish’s 49th COVID-related death. However, local sources have told the Leader that both patients reportedly died several weeks ago.

Both of the victims were African American. COVID-19 continues to hit African Americans harder than it does white people locally and nationwide. Sixty percent of the Lincoln Parish deaths occurred in the African American community. However, African Americans make up only 41% of the parish population.

Meantime, the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Lincoln Parish continues to inch upward. Some 1,679 cases — including the 50 fatalities — have been verified locally since the count began in March, LDH reported Thursday.

The total marks 30 new cases confirmed so far this week. However, that doesn’t mean all of the cases are active. LDH does not delineate between active cases and patients who have recovered.

Lincoln Parish’s positivity rate — the number of positive cases based on the number of tests done — continues to drop. It stood at 5.3% on Oct. 21, the end of the most recent reporting period.