Category Archives: Covid-19

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The Impact of COVID-19 on Science Education - Public Policy Institute of California

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) Spinning and floating in the breeze, thousands of pieces of paper tied to clear lines grace the trees outside the building that hosts the Lake Effect Church and Sudanese Grace Episcopal Church in northwest Grand Rapids.

They are weathergrams, a Japanese form of art that typically features haikus on paper left to weather outside. Instead of poetry, these paper strips feature the names of people who died from COVID-19 or suicide during the pandemic.

Artist Donna Kemper came up with the idea for the installation and did the calligraphy for many of the weathergrams herself.

Social media has been so toxic, and there have been so many people who have denied that there is even a pandemic. There have just been so many unkind things posted, she said. I just spent time in prayer and said, What can I do?'

Kemper wanted to represent each person who has died from COVID-19 and came up with the idea of the weathergrams.

People say youll get over grief, but you dont. It changes and it weathers, but it will always be with you. The concept was to remember each person lost because they represent a family, friends, a community. Our nation is grieving and hasnt really had a chance to address that.

Kemper still has people calling her, asking if the installation is up because they want to add names to it. Other artists have submitted many of the strips of paper as well.

The U.S. reached the milestone earlier this year of a million deaths due to COVID-19. Although Kemper does not have a million pieces of paper, she does have nearly 2,000.

To see it actually up and twirling in the wind, its even better than I imagined. Im hoping that people will reconsider the idea that this hasnt been a big deal that visually seeing each piece of paper will affect people by seeing something more visual, rather than just statistics and numbers.

Jack Systema is the pastor at Lake Effect Church and helped Kemper install the strings of paper outside. His congregations share the building with the Sudanese Grace Episcopal Church congregation.

The Rev. Zacharia Char leads that church and has also supported the project.

I feel this is really good. This can be a special prayer that can involve everybody to walk around and have a moment of silence or a moment of prayer about someone we lost. The million people that we lost here in America, said Char.

The installation is outside the church building at 1550 Oswego St. NW in Grand Rapids.

Kemper and the pastors will hold a prayer service to dedicate the installation at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday. It is open to the public.

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GR artist honors COVID-19 victims with weathergram installation - WOODTV.com

GREENVILLE, N.C. (WNCT) A pair of researchers at East Carolina University Brody School of Medicine have discovered that new nanotechnology may have therapeutic benefits in the treatment of SARS-CoV2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

The ECU patented technology is called SNAT, standing for Smart Nano-Enabled Antiviral Therapy.

Researchers Dr. Lok Pokhrel, assistant professor of toxicology in Brodys Public Health Department, and Dr. Shaw Akula, a virologist and associate professor in Brodys Department of Microbiology and Immunology, used hamsters to test the ability of SNAT to inhibit infection caused by COVID-19. After 14 days, results showed that SNAT reduced the virus in oral swabs, reversed bodily weight loss and improved lung function in the hamsters compared to those who had not been infected with the virus.

Pokhrel and Akula wanted to create a treatment that is more accessible in areas or countries with poor infrastructure.

The current vaccinations as well as therapeutics, theyre either administered intravenously or they are oral pills against COVID-19, right. And the delivery or the treatment of those options require healthcare facilities, which were overwhelmed during the pandemic. So we wanted to find an alternative solution, in which case people can get the medication like an inhaler or nebulizer over the counter and treat them at home.

Compared to other current treatments on the market, their drug is easier to maintain. It doesnt need refrigeration or special storage, it can be stored for up to three years at room temperature, which is a big deal for treatment options in countries like Africa or Asia, according to the researchers.

They also say its highly safe to lung cells, skin cells and it is also non-irritating to the eyes.

SNAT is currently in its preclinical stage. The next step in phases one and two of clinical trials is to test the effectiveness in humans. Pokhrel and Akula say the technology is adaptable, allowing other researchers to test new viruses for any future epidemic or pandemic.

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North Carolina researchers find potential COVID-19 treatment with new nanotechnology - WBTW

As Novavax clears a key step on the path to FDA authorization, researchers with the UNC Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases hold hope for a COVID-19 vaccine that can address vaccine inequity and demand.

Dr. Cindy Gay, associate professor of infectious diseases in the infectious diseases division in the School of Medicine, led the phase 3 Novavax study at Carolina and is co-chair for the overall study. She answers questions about the vaccine in a new UNC Health video.

There are different ways to design a vaccine. The Moderna and Pfizer mRNA vaccines use a strategy whereby the vaccine delivers an instruction code that gets delivered inside our cells. Then, our own cells are instructed to make a piece of the virus to elicit an immune response which provides protection against COVID-19 illness.

Novavax is a protein-based vaccine using a much more traditional vaccine platform. Several vaccines approved for infections have been using this platform for decades. With this strategy, the vaccine itself delivers the piece of the COVID-19 virus that we want to elicit the immune response to. Its the same spike protein that is eliciting a response with the other COVID-19 vaccines, but in this case, its being delivered directly in the vaccine.

The Novavax vaccine was 90.4% effective in preventing symptomatic COVID-19 illness. The data submitted to the FDA covers an early period in the study, including when the delta variant was circulating and when the omicron variant had yet to emerge.

However, Novavax looked at immune responses to the omicron variant and, more importantly, neutralizing responses. The Novavax vaccine did elicit immune responses to the omicron variant, but it provided less protection compared to the initial Wuhan strain and the other variants, as weve seen with all of the currently available COVID-19 vaccines. Studies also looked at responses after a booster dose, provided in this phase 3 study. Results showed substantial increases in response, including to the omicron variant.

UNC was a site for the phase 3 study of the Novavax vaccine through the Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases. This is a two-year study, and we are continuing to follow participants for safety monitoring and additional immunological testing. In addition, UNC was a site for the enrollment of adolescents on the study, from age 12 to 17, and we continue to follow them as well.

Given where we are with vaccination rates in the U.S., its most likely that Novavax, if approved for emergency use authorization, would be used as a booster dose. However, emergency use authorization submission and approval would be for an initial or primary series. Many of us are hopeful that individuals who remain unvaccinated and concerned about newer mRNA vaccines will be willing to try this more traditional approach to a vaccine. Its already been approved in several other countries, including the European Union, and cleared by the World Health Organization. There have been no safety issues with the phase 3 study in the U.S. and Mexico, or in a large U.K. study.

One key advantage is that Novavax does not have to be frozen. In many ways, this will make it a much more accessible vaccine once it becomes widely available, as transportation and access to freezers can be an issue with other COVID-19 vaccines. The logistics and storage required to deliver the Novavax vaccine to rural settings and low resource countries would be much easier, making this is an important vaccine for getting more individuals vaccinated while addressing vaccine inequity.

Learn how the built-in infrastructure of Carolinas Clinical Trials Unit in the Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases brought COVID-19 vaccine trials to UNC-Chapel Hill, starting with Moderna.

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New Novavax COVID-19 vaccine could address inequity and demand - The Well : The Well - The Well

When the first wave of COVID-19 reached England, the national lockdown led to school closures with very little warning for pupils, teachers and parents. Childrens homes became their classrooms.

We carried out research into primary school teachers experiences of remote learning during the first and second COVID lockdowns. This involved an online survey of 271 teachers from schools across England and interviews with teachers from 24 schools in June and July 2020. We then conducted follow-up interviews with 14 of the teachers in April 2021, after the second period of school closures.

In particular, we looked at the relationship between teachers and parents. School closures resulted in a dramatic shift in the role that parents were required to play in their childrens learning. Teachers expectations of parents shifted from supporting learning at home, based on what children were doing at school, to being integrally involved in schooling at home.

Our research sheds light on the obstacles that parents and teachers faced, but also the effective strategies that teachers used to get parents involved with their childrens learning.

School closures exacerbated the digital divide between families who had good access to technology and digital skills, and those who did not. Disadvantaged children and families were less likely to have sufficient technology and internet access for remote learning, compared with their more affluent counterparts. Some parents and children only had internet access through a smartphone rather than a tablet or computer, which was often impractical for remote learning.

The UK government set up a scheme to allocate digital devices to families who needed them, but the teachers we spoke to told us that attempts to provide devices to families were not always effective. Schools often had very few devices available compared with the number of pupils in need, and teachers also reported that devices quickly became damaged.

In some cases, parents were unwilling to take laptops home for example, one teacher commented:

We had about 29 (laptops). In the end most families didnt want one. We actually gave out about four of the 29 possibly because if youve got a computer, then you need to be doing the learning.

For some families, additional barriers such as work commitments and other children at home prevented them engaging in home learning.

During the first lockdown, the teachers we spoke to wanted to prioritise the wellbeing of families and children, rather than adding to the pressure families were facing with demands for schooling at home. As one teacher noted, We have said to families, just having experiences like cooking at home or gardening, these are all equally as valuable. Another told us:

I sent out [letters] about parents not putting themselves under pressure about the amount and quality of work their child should be submitting each week. I had quite a number of emails from some parents saying: Oh my goodness, you dont know how much that letter meant to me when I read it. Ive been putting myself under so much pressure. I was really worried about this.

The mood had shifted by the second period of school closures. When we interviewed teachers again, government requirements for remote and in-person teaching during school closures had increased considerably. One teacher explained:

The government told us that we had to do exactly what we would have been doing in class. And we had to provide four hours of good-quality teaching and learning every day. Thats what people could expect.

This created stress for teachers in providing sufficient materials, and for parents in keeping up with the learning, particularly as more parents were back working in the second period of closures.

Teachers told us they worked with parents to build their digital skills and increase their confidence when helping their children with schoolwork. This included running online workshops and providing short videos to introduce parents to key concepts and teaching methods.

Greater communication between teachers and parents during the school closures also led to stronger relationships. One deputy headteacher observed:

Getting to know the parents at a deeper level we actually sort of moved further on in the relationships, and trust really helped I think we built more (trust).

Gaining insight into childrens home lives also allowed schools to provide additional support where it was needed most. One teacher told us their school sent out hampers of food and other essential items to families.

Technology can provide valuable opportunities for connecting parents with their childrens schooling. However, unless there are greater efforts to tackle the digital divide, increasing use of technology will put the most vulnerable children at a greater disadvantage. Overall, the experiences of the teachers we spoke to during lockdown show that parents and teachers can play a mutually supportive role in childrens education, in the pandemic and beyond.

See the article here:

How teachers supported children and parents through COVID-19 school closures - The Conversation

Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva has tested positive for COVID-19, the Sheriffs Department said Tuesday evening, June 21.

Villanueva is experiencing mild symptoms and in good spirits, said Deputy Brenda Serna, spokeswoman for the Sheriffs Department.

The agency declined to immediately provide further information about the diagnosis.

Villanueva, running for re-election, likely will face former Long Beach Police Chief Robert Luna in the November general election.

The latest results show Villanueva leading in the primary election race, with 452,802 votes (30.7%); vs. Lunas 381,959 votes (25.9%).

Villanueva has been vocal about his opposition to COVID-19 vaccine mandates for county employees, saying mandates led to an increase in deputies and personnel retiring early, resigning or otherwise taking leave from the department. Villanueva himself was vaccinated against COVID-19 and promoted the vaccines effectiveness, but acknowledged that many in his department disagreed with the mandate.

As of Tuesday morning, 5,115 Sheriffs Department employees had tested positive for COVID-19, according to statistics posted by the agency.

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LA County Sheriff Villanueva tests positive for COVID-19; is said to be in good spirits - LA Daily News

Back in February of 2021, mental-health educator and wellness coach Minaa B. wrote about the concept and importance of community care in an op-ed for Well+Good: "The idea of community care, essentially, is to use our power, privilege, and resources to better the people who are both in and out of our scope of reach."

There's no denying that the world looks a bit different a year and a half after she penned the piece: Airlines have lifted mask mandates and COVID-19 testing requirements for international and domestic flights, and almost every state in the country has relaxed its pandemic restrictions. But as the United States continues racing to conditions of pre-pandemic lifeeven as the number of infections continues to growthe definition of community care remains the same, and the way in which folks practice it is perhaps more important than ever. In a time when it feels that the government has more or less wiped its hands of COVID-19 as a public health issue, the honor and burden of community care falls back on individualsmeaning, you, me, each one of us. But, how?

Community-oriented care comes in many forms. While the idea and practice is prevalent across the world, the concept of public healththe American government's answer to community carestarted in the early 1900s. Since the idea found its way to American soil, the average American lifespan has increased 30 years25 of which are attributed to public-health advancements including vaccinations, safer workplaces, family planning, and cleaner drinking water.

Of course, community care has also stemmed from local, grassroots movements: The Hispanic Federation assembled after Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico. Food banks have played a crucial role in feeding millions in the last few years. And, more recently, Well+Good Changemaker and Liberate Abortion leader Sharmin Hossain is leading an abortion caravan through Jackson, Mississippi, to teach people how to self-manage abortions in a time whenRoe v. Wadeis likely to be overturned. Such efforts are less quantifiable than those enacted by the government; nevertheless, they are and will continue to be vitalespecially as we navigate what community care looks like as it pertains to COVID-19.

That is, how do we practice community care in a time when public health is politically divisive; when only 67 percent of the population has been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 (and vaccination acceptance overall is on the decline)? And whendespite the fact that one million Americans have now died of COVID-19 and others live with long COVIDgetting folks to take the virus seriously remains a challenge?

I asked Isaac P. Dapkins, MD, chief medical officer at the Family Health Centers at NYU Langone, who has worked at the intersection of medicine and community care for about six years, for his thoughts. Since the start of the pandemic, he says that he and his team have spoken a lot about how doctors can orient their work toward community careand one strategy in particular has stood out to him.

When New York City became the epicenter of the pandemic in March of 2020, Dr. Dapkins saw the impact COVID-19 had on the community where he practices: Sunset Park, Brooklyn. "When we had the highest rate of infection, I think the worst part was that, if you got COVID, it really meant that you were putting your family at risk. Whether it was your older parents or your children," he says.

Folks who lived in multi-generational householdsspecifically Black people, Hispanic people, and people of Asian descentstood the greatest chance of passing a COVID-19 infection onto one or several loved ones. This risk came to define how Dr. Dapkins spoke to people about community care.

"For example, I had a woman who was in her early fifties, who was adamantly against vaccination, and she had issues that would make her at risk. I was able to connect with her about getting a vaccine by talking to her about how she would protect her motherwhom she was really worried would get sick," says Dr. Dapkins. Ultimately, he was able to convince the woman to get the vaccine for the health and safety of her family.

"The way to communicate with people is to find common ground, things that people share value-wise." Isaac P. Dapkins, MD, chief medical officer at the Family Health Centers, NYU Langone

Although not all of us are doctors, Dr. Dapkins believes that the future of community care will hinge on getting really good at talking to those we love about how their actions inform the health of their closest communities. "Doctors are really focused on communicating with individual people about their risk [for COVID-19], and I don't believe that's a very effective way to change people's minds. The way to communicate with people is to find common ground, things that people share value-wise," he says.

I know what you're thinking: Finding common ground is a difficult ask. Try as we might to use our power, privilege, and resources to connect with those who have decided the pandemic is over, and these conversations can feel like banging your hands against a brick wall. But if we stop trying, what then?

"If you're out on the street, and there's a little kid who looks like they're going to run out into the road, most people are going to stop the kid. I think there's some nugget of opportunity in that community-care conversation," says Dr. Dapkins. "Would you let a little kid run out into the street and get hit by a car? When you start to frame it in an emotional way for people that's real and doesn't have to do with sort of dry numbers and risk, it at least facilitates the conversation."

Besides having these difficult conversations, another way to practice community care right now is leading by example. If you're someone who, for instance, is fully vaccinated but still prefers to wear a mask in public spaces, wear your mask on the plane. Make it clear that you want to social distance at the supermarket. Require people to show proof of vaccination at your wedding.

The reverse is also true: Your respect and adherence to your family and friends' preferred COVID-19 safety measures is a form of community care. "Again, it's really about trying to encourage people to accept what others want to do about reducing their risk rather than focusing on what your perceived risk is," says Dr. Dapkins.

Infection rates and COVID-19-related deaths stats are importantthere's no arguing that. But when it comes to community care, human empathy may be the key to showing up for your peopleespecially when the government has decided to move on.

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What Happens to Community Care When the Government Decides Its Every Person for Themselves in the Face of COVID-19? - Well+Good

1. In patients with mild-to-moderate coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), sotrovimab reduced the risk of disease progression.

2. Sotrovimab was associated with no significant adverse events in high-risk patients with mild-to-moderate COVID-19.

Evidence Rating Level: 1 (Excellent)

Study Rundown: Several vaccines have been approved for the prevention of COVID-19. Although, many individuals are still infected on a daily basis globally and require intervention to reduce associated morbidity and mortality. Sotrovimab is an engineered human monoclonal antibody that neutralizes SARS-CoV-2 and multiple other sarbecoviruses. It has been proposed that sotrovimab can be used in high-risk patients infected with COVID-19 to neutralize the virus and prevent disease progression early in the course of infection. However, there is a paucity of data on the efficacy and safety of sotrovimab use in high-risk ambulatory patients with mild-to-moderate COVID-19. The present study found that sotrovimab was an effective therapeutic agent for outpatients with COVID-19, resulting in a reduced risk of disease progression. This study was limited by a low number of hospitalizations in the sotrovimab group. Accordingly, it is unclear which patient or disease characteristics might be associated with sotrovimab treatment failure. Additionally, there was no analysis of baseline autologous antibody response to SARS-CoV-2 to measure immune response and status. Nevertheless, the findings are significant as they demonstrate that sotrovimab can potentially serve as a new therapeutic drug for high-risk patients with mild to moderate COVID-19 to slow disease progression.

Click to read the study in NEJM.

Relevant Reading: Early Treatment with Sotrovimab for COVID-19

In-Depth [randomized control trial]: This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was conducted at 37 trial sites in the United States, Canada, Brazil, and Spain. Patients who were 18 years of age or older with a positive result on PCR or antigen SARS-CoV-2 testing and COVID-19 symptoms within the previous five days were eligible for the study. Patients who already had severe COVID-19, defined as shortness of breath at rest or use of supplemental oxygen, were excluded from the study. Study participants were then randomly assigned to receive either a single 500mg infusion of sotrovimab or an equal volume of saline placebo. The primary outcome was measured as the percentage of patients who were hospitalized for more than 24 hours or who died from any cause up to day 29 after randomization. Outcomes in the primary analysis were assessed via group-sequential design with two interim analyses to assess both futility due to lack of efficacy and efficacy. Based on the analysis, 1% of patients in the sotrovimab group and 7% of patients in the placebo group had disease progression leading to hospitalization or death (relative risk reduction, 85%; 97.24% Confidence Interval, 44 to 96). Within the placebo group, five of these patients were admitted to the ICU, including one who died by day 29. Regarding the safety profile of sotrovimab, 17% of patients reported adverse events in the sotrovimab group while 19% of patients in the placebo reported adverse events. Serious adverse events were also less common with sotrovimab than with placebo, occurring in 2% of patients in the sotrovimab group and in 6% of patients in the placebo group. Overall, this study demonstrates that sotrovimab reduced the risk of disease progression among high-risk patients with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 and offers a new therapeutic agent to potentially reduce the progression of COVID-19.

Image: PD

2022 2 Minute Medicine, Inc. All rights reserved. No works may be reproduced without expressed written consent from 2 Minute Medicine, Inc. Inquire about licensing here. No article should be construed as medical advice and is not intended as such by the authors or by 2 Minute Medicine, Inc.

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Sotrovimab reduces the severity of COVID-19 progression - 2 Minute Medicine

Confirmed cases of COVID-19 have passed 538.9 million globally, according to Johns Hopkins University. The number of confirmed deaths has now passed 6.31 million. More than 11.99 billion vaccination doses have been administered globally, according to Our World in Data.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now recommends COVID-19 vaccines for children as young as six months, allowing a nationwide rollout to start imminently. The move came after a panel of advisers to the institution voted to recommend COVID-19 vaccines for children of that age.

People infected with the earliest version of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus first identified in South Africa in November may be vulnerable to reinfection with later versions of Omicron even if they have been vaccinated and boosted, new findings suggest.

Macau, the world's biggest gambling hub, began its second day of mass COVID-19 testing on Monday after dozens of locally transmitted cases were discovered over the weekend, with most businesses shut but casinos remaining open.

North Korea has recorded another 18,820 new fever cases amid its first official COVID-19 outbreak, state news agency KCNA said on Monday, as daily reported infections continued to drop and no new deaths were reported.

The European Medicines Agency has launched a rolling review of a variant-adapted COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech, as cases of new Omicron sub-variants are on the rise. Clinical trial data will be added to the rolling submission, which is designed to speed up any approval, BioNTech and Pfizer said in a joint statement.

The Swiss parliament has refused to fully finance the government's plan to buy COVID-19 vaccines in 2023. It means the government could initially procure only 3.5 million additional vaccine doses each from Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech instead of seven million each for 2023 it announced in March.

US healthcare giant Pfizer has agreed to buy an 8.1% stake in French vaccines company Valneva. The French company is working on a COVID-19 vaccine.

Daily new confirmed COVID-19 cases per million people in selected countries

Image: Our World in Data

The odds of developing long COVID after infection were 20% to 50% lower during the Omicron wave in the UK compared to Delta, researchers at King's College London found, using data from the ZOE COVID Symptom study app. The figure varied depending on the patient's age and the timing of their last vaccination.

Long COVID, which includes prolonged symptoms ranging from fatigue to "brain fog", can be debilitating and continue for weeks or months. It is increasingly being recognized as a public health problem, and researchers have been racing to find out whether Omicron presents as big a risk of long COVID as previously dominant variants.

The study from King's is believed to be the first academic research to show Omicron does not present as great a risk of long COVID, but that does not mean long COVID patient numbers are dropping, the team said.

While the risk of long COVID was lower during Omicron, more people were infected, so the absolute number now suffering is higher. The UK's Office for National Statistics said in May that 438,000 people in the country have long COVID after Omicron infection, representing 24% of all long COVID patients.

The G20 group of major economies aims to raise $1.5 billion this year for a fund set up to better prepare for future pandemics, the health minister of current G20 president Indonesia has said.

G20 countries have provisionally agreed to set up a multi-billion-dollar fund that health officials have said will finance efforts such as surveillance, research and better access to vaccination for lower-to-middle income countries.

Indonesian Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said in an interview that the United States, European Union, Indonesia, Singapore and Germany have pledged about $1.1 billion to the fund so far.

"If we can get by the end of this year $1.5 billion of fresh funding, we will be very, very happy," he told Reuters, adding that he hopes the group can raise another $1.5 billion next year.

The World Bank, which will house the fund, and the World Health Organization, which is advising, estimate that the annual funding gap for pandemic preparedness is $10.5 billion.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.

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COVID-19: Top stories about the pandemic in mid-June 2022 - World Economic Forum

Mike Stucka USA TODAY NETWORK| Plaquemine Post South

Louisiana reported far fewer coronavirus cases in the week ending Sunday, adding 6,649 new cases. That's down 16.1% from the previous week's tally of 7,921 new cases of the virus that causes COVID-19.

Louisiana ranked 38th among the states where coronavirus was spreading the fastest on a per-person basis, a USA TODAY Network analysis of Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the latest week coronavirus cases in the United States decreased 0.7% from the week before, with 730,572 cases reported. With 1.4% of the country's population, Louisiana had 0.91% of the country's cases in the last week. Across the country, 15 states had more cases in the latest week than they did in the week before.

Iberville Parish reported 52 cases and zero deaths in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 202 cases and minus one death. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 8,989 cases and 152 deaths.

Across Louisiana, cases fell in 34 parishes, with the best declines in Bossier Parish, with 292 cases from 644 a week earlier; in Jefferson Parish, with 659 cases from 928; and in Orleans Parish, with 612 cases from 831.

>> See how your community has fared with recent coronavirus cases

Within Louisiana, the worst weekly outbreaks on a per-person basis were in St. James Parish with 280 cases per 100,000 per week; De Soto Parish with 240; and Bossier Parish with 230. The Centers for Disease Control says high levels of community transmission begin at 100 cases per 100,000 per week.

Adding the most new cases overall were East Baton Rouge Parish, with 727 cases; Jefferson Parish, with 659 cases; and Orleans Parish, with 612. Weekly case counts rose in 26 parishes from the previous week. The worst increases from the prior week's pace were in Rapides, Lafayette and Ouachita parishes.

In Louisiana, 17 people were reported dead of COVID-19 in the week ending Sunday. In the week before that, 15 people were reported dead.

A total of 1,210,760 people in Louisiana have tested positive for the coronavirus since the pandemic began, and 17,373 people have died from the disease, Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the United States 86,246,101 people have tested positive and 1,013,413 people have died.

>> Track coronavirus cases across the United States

USA TODAY analyzed federal hospital data as of Sunday, June 19.

Likely COVID patients admitted in the state:

Likely COVID patients admitted in the nation:

Hospitals in 29 states reported more COVID-19 patients than a week earlier, while hospitals in 25 states had more COVID-19 patients in intensive-care beds. Hospitals in 31 states admitted more COVID-19 patients in the latest week than a week prior, the USA TODAY analysis of U.S. Health and Human Services data shows.

The USA TODAY Network is publishing localized versions of this story on its news sites across the country, generated with data from Johns Hopkins University and the Centers for Disease Control. If you have questions about the data or the story, contact Mike Stucka at mstucka@gannett.com.

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Iberville Parish reported 52 additional COVID-19 cases this week - Post South