Frequency of coronavirus growth slows

The daily number of new confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus appears to have peaked in Lincoln Parish around April 10, according to charts being updated daily by Ruston’s Hunt, Guillot & Associates.

While the total number of cases continues to climb — it’s now at 52, according to the latest Louisiana Department of Health statistics — the frequency of the increase has slowed and decreased, HGA’s graph shows.

On April 10, the parish recorded 33 cases of COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus.

The chart shows a jump of five cases from April 9.

Both local and state charts being kept by HGA update daily. The chart available Tuesday morning included Monday’s LDH data.

The charts show a similar pattern statewide, where the daily number of new cases peaked on April 4.

Since then, Louisiana’s have also trended downward in frequency even though the aggregate number continues to rise.

HGA is using data and graphs to track the number of cases in locations nationwide where the company has offices.

Meantime, Lincoln Parish’s new 52 known cases reflect a one-case increase from Monday’s LDH numbers. The numbers continue to show two local COVID-19 deaths. A third suspected COVID-19 death had not been confirmed as of Tuesday afternoon.

The 52 cases include the two patients who died, Director of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness Kip Franklin said Tuesday.

Likewise, the new statewide total of 24,854 diagnosed cases also includes the 1,405 who have died from the virus. Both state numbers reflect increases from Monday’s report.

This week, LDH has begun posting positive COVID-19 cases by census tracts within a parish. Only patients with complete and accurate addresses are matched to a tract and counted, according to the LDH website.

For Lincoln Parish, the map shows eight cases in the western side of the parish, including Simsboro; two in the tract that goes across the top of the parish and includes Dubach and Vienna; one in the Grambling area; two between Ruston and Vienna; one in an area southwest of Ruston; 18 in two areas almost directly south of Ruston; eight in an area that appears to include part of Ruston and stretching southeastward; and four in an area reaching from the Jackson Parish line, through a large swath of the parish including Choudrant, and bordering on Ouachita and Union parishes.

The rest of the local cases were in tracts with fewer than 1,000 people and thus not matched to a tract, the website says.