Aug. 18: Louisiana adds 6,606 new COVID cases, 28% are in children

MONROE, La. (KNOE) - The Aug. 18 COVID report from the State of Louisiana added 6,606 new cases in Louisiana, 28% of which were in children, officials say.

That means roughly 1,850 more children in Louisiana have tested positive for the coronavirus. This accounts for a single day of reporting.

For comparison, yesterday, nearly 25% were children. During the week of Aug. 5-11, 20% of all cases were in children. During the week prior to that one, 18.7% of new cases were in children.

Included with the Aug. 18 report, there were also 87 new deaths reported to the state since yesterday. 3,022 COVID-positive patients are in Louisiana hospitals and 448 are on ventilators. You can view the state’s COVID dashboard on the health department’s website.

In Region 8 (NELA), 22 ICU beds remain available. In other parts of the state, things are worse. Region 4 only has 1 ICU bed open. Region 5 only has 2 and Region 3 only has 5 open.

The Louisiana Department of Health reports 6,606 #COVID19 cases reported to the state since August 17, 2021. pic.twitter.com/xozCIuKS67
— Louisiana Department of Health (@LADeptHealth) August 18, 2021

🚨🚨🚨 A full 28% of all new COVID cases reported in Louisiana today are in children.

The age group with the most growth in COVID is our kids, and many of them are too young to even get the vaccine that's available to all of us adults for free.
— Christina Stephens 😎 (@CEStephens) August 18, 2021

According to a spokesperson in @LouisianaGov office, Louisiana has only 11% of its ICU beds available. https://t.co/6wyIqrfB0w
— Tyler Englander (@TylerEnglander) August 18, 2021