The number of patients hospitalized with the coronavirus in Acadiana is now at 304, according to the state's update at noon Friday and The Advocate.
This duplicates the record-breaking number set during the summer 2020 surge, according to data from the Louisiana Department of Health.
The regional record comes after the fourth day in a row of record-setting COVID-19 hospitalizations in Louisiana. The Department of Health reported Friday that 2,421 patients were hospitalized across the state.
The Health Department's Region 4, which includes Lafayette and the surrounding parishes, didn't reach a record number of hospitalizations until later in the week. The state's update showed that 304 patients were hospitalized with the virus as of Thursday.
There has never been more patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in the region on any single day, they say. Only one other time, on July 22, 2020, has the number reached 304.
It took longer for Acadiana hospitals to reach the record-setting number of patients during the summer 2020 surge than it has during the current Delta surge, they say.
There's been a 120% increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations in Region 4's seven-parish area over the last two weeks, with hospitals treating 138 corona-virus patients on July 22. A week later, on July 29, hospitals had 217 corona-virus patients before reaching the tie-breaking record of 304 on Thursday.
In the summer of 2020, there was a 54% increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations in the region during the two weeks before the record-setting day, with hospitals reporting 197 patients on July 8, 2020, and 263 patients on July 15, 2020, before reaching 304 on July 22, 2020.
Hospital leaders and public health officials have said they expect the number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients to continue to increase based on current trends as the Delta variant of the corona-virus continues to spread uncontrollably through Acadiana.
They've also continued to urge people to get vaccinated and have noted that the overwhelming majority of hospitalized COVID-19 patients are unvaccinated, especially those who require intensive care.
On Friday, The Department of Health reported, '90% of people hospitalized are unvaccinated and just 5 intensive care unit beds, or about 3% of the total ICU beds in Region 4 were available in Acadiana.'
There were 48 new deaths reported bringing the state's death toll to 11,210.
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