NEW ORLEANS – From the Data Center:
In recent days, death announcements are coming way too frequently. From Ronald Lewis, the founder of House of Dance and Feathers, to Oliver Stokes Jr, perhaps better known as the locally renowned DJ Black N Mild, to Ellis Marsalis, the patriarch of the amazing Marsalis family, too many of our elders, civic leaders, and culture bearers are falling ill and passing away.
Today we release new data on COVID-19-related deaths in our region. This data is not only poignant, it is a critical measure of the true impact of COVID-19 on our city. While confirmed cases may be constrained by limited testing capacity and lag times in test results, death data is a closer reflection of the true infection rate, as well as medical capacity and the pre-existing health conditions that make our city so vulnerable to COVID-19.
Our latest COVID-19 data update includes:
- COVID-19 mortality rates over time among counties with the highest number of COVID-19 deaths in the country.
- COVID-19-related deaths in New Orleans compared to other leading causes of death.
- In short, the number of COVID-19 deaths in New Orleans in relation to our population size is the highest of all hard hit regions in the country. As of April 3rd, there were 32 deaths for every 100,000 residents, nearly double the mortality rate of New York City. A recent uptick in Jefferson Parish deaths has brought it to second.
To put this into context, it only took six days from the first death in Orleans Parish for COVID-19-related deaths to outpace all influenza and pneumonia deaths in New Orleans for the entire year of 2018. COVID-19 has since also outpaced several other leading causes of death in New Orleans, including homicide, kidney disease, and Alzheimer’s disease.
See these stats and more at:
www.datacenterresearch.org/covid-19-data-and-information/covid-19-data/
