Probable COVID deaths up by four; cases for the month up by 291

COVID-19 may have caused the deaths of four more Lincoln Parish residents in the last week.

As of Monday, the Louisiana Department of Health placed at 15 the total of probable COVID deaths since the pandemic began over a year ago. That total has jumped by four in seven days.

Probable deaths are deaths that occur in individuals who had a positive test detecting SARS-CoV2 antigens in a clinical specimen, but whose illness was not officially confirmed as COVID, or a death in an individual that meets the vital records criteria with no COVID lab testing available.

Confirmed COVID deaths still stand at 99. If further testing of the deceased whose deaths are now classified as probable confirms COVID, that death will be moved into the confirmed category.

Meantime, COVID cases continue to climb in Lincoln Parish. LDH reports 52 new cases over the last week and 291 new cases so far this month. The health agency data further shows the majority of new cases in the 12-parish health region that includes Lincoln Parish are now in children and youth age 5-17.

The age 70-plus category, which was the most vulnerable when the pandemic began, has dropped into second place in the region.

Approximately 34% of eligible parish residents are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to LDH and the Centers for Disease Control. Another 39% have had at least one dose of the two-dose Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, as of Monday, the health agencies reported.