Six St. Mary people die of COVID in three days

Six St. Mary people, all from the eastern parish, died from COVID-19 within 72 hours of Tuesday night, Coroner Eric Melancon said.

Melacon reported the first five deaths late Tuesday afternoon. Then, as this story was being written Tuesday evening, he sent a text message reporting the death of an Amelia resident.

The ages of the first five victims are 70, 64, 54, 48 and 41 years old. That's an average age of 55.4, roughly in the range reported by State Health Office Dr. Joseph Kanter on Monday for Louisiana hospitalizations. The average age of patients hospitalized for COVID treatment has dropped from 64 to 54 since the Delta COVID variant began to drive infections upward in early July.

Four of the St. Mary people who died were unvaccinated, Melancon said. Another had a first shot one day before dying and wasn't protected. The vaccination status of the sixth person is unknown.

In St. Mary, the total number of COVID cases since the pandemic began was at 6,414 Tuesday, up 54 from Monday, according to the Louisiana Office of Public Health. The six newly reported fatalities will raise the parish's COVID death toll to 153.

St. Mary's vaccination rate rose slightly to about 30.5% in the week ending Tuesday. The national vaccination reached 70% this week.

Statewide, about 16,000 new COVID cases have been confirmed since Friday. On Tuesday alone, the OPH reported 57 new COVID fatalities.

And COVID hospitalizations hit 2,112 Tuesday, surpassing the peak of 2,069 during the worst of last winter's third wave.

With schools about to open and hospitals seeking help for overworked medical staffs, Gov. John Bel Edwards changed his emergency proclamation Monday to require masks in indoor public places.

In Louisiana Health Department Region 3, which stretches from St. Mary to St. John the Baptist Parish, 64 of 76 available intensive care beds were in use Tuesday.

Ochsner St. Mary said Monday that it was nearing capacity and that 75% of its patients were being treated for COVID.

People who want testing or treatment for mild COVID-like symptoms are being urged to consult their primary care physician or go to a facility other than a hospital in order to preserve critical care capacity.