St. Mary COVID cases trend upward, but with milder symptoms

As the nation copes with new COVID-19 variants, St. Mary Parish has seen an increase in the number of new infections in recent weeks.

But the daily number of new cases falls far short of the statistics posted during pandemic surges. St. Mary Coroner Eric Melancon said the cases he sees in his medical practice are surprisingly mild.

Melancon said he sees no reason for people to change their behavior as summer approaches. He believes the pandemic may have entered a phase in which it poses a threat similar to influenza, but year-round.

On Friday, the last reporting day before the holiday weekend, the Louisiana Office of Public Health reported that the pandemic case count for St. Mary stands at 12,636, a number equal to about a quarter of the parish's population.

Ninety new St. Mary cases have been recorded since May 17, a number that doesn't reflect the results of widely available home tests.

During the worst part of the pandemic in St. Mary, the summer 2021 delta surge, the parish was reporting 100 cases or more each day.

"For the last couple of weeks we've seen an uptick in cases," Melancon said Friday. "The surprise has been that they're not that serious. ...

"I think we've come to the point where it's more like the flu, but not seasonal."

One St. Mary COVID death has been reported since March 10, raising the death toll to 263 since the first COVID fatality was reported in April 2020. Melancon said he has not been notified about the most recent COVID death.

The St. Mary vaccination rate is just short of 45%, according to the OPH.

Statewide, Louisiana is seeing an increase in daily new cases, especially in the extreme eastern portion of the state.

On Friday, the OPH reported 1,279 new cases, on a par with numbers reported for the last 10 days. A month ago, the state was often reporting fewer than 300 new cases per day.

The OPH rates Orleans and Plaquemines parishes as "high" for community COVID levels. Classified as "medium" are Iberville, St. James, St. Charles, St. Tammany, St. Bernard, St. John the Baptist and Jefferson. The rest of the state is rated as "low."

Hospitalizations are up to 197 from 96 May 17, still far below the peak levels during COVID surges. The number of COVID patients on ventilators was at 11, up from five May 17.