New Orleans has highest coronavirus death rate of all hard-hit areas in US, data shows
New Orleans has the highest number of novel coronavirus deaths per capita of all hard-hit cities in the nation, surpassing New York City, The Data Center in southeast Louisiana says.
By Friday, the city had reported 32 deaths per 100,000 residents — almost double the rate in New York City, the news release says. The total number of deaths in New Orleans stood at 153 Saturday, with 3,966 confirmed cases, according to the Louisiana Health Department.
The city’s first COVID-19 case was confirmed March 9 and the first death on March 14.
“This data is not only poignant, it is a critical measure of the true impact of COVID-19 on our city,” The Data Center news release says. “While confirmed cases may be constrained by limited testing capacity and lag times in test results, death data is a closer reflection of the true infection rate, as well as medical capacity and the pre-existing health conditions that make our city so vulnerable to COVID-19..”
Novel coronavirus deaths in New Orleans in six days surpassed 2018 mortality rates for influenza and pneumonia combined, the data showed.
Several other leading causes of death, including homicide, kidney disease and Alzheimer’s, also have since been surpassed by COVID-19 deaths.
New Orleans has lost a number of its most prominent residents to the virus, including jazz great Ellis Marsalis, 85, and Ronald Lewis, 68, a cultural icon who founded the House of Dance and Feathers museum.
Neighboring Jefferson Parish has the second-highest death rate per capita of counties in the nation, according to The Data Center.
The Data Center concludes poverty and household income in New Orleans are linked to the death rate. New Orleans’ poverty rate in 2018 was 23.8%, compared to 17.3% in New York City and 8.2% in Westchester County, N.Y., which has also experienced a major coronavirus outbreak.
“When people live in poverty, they live in much closer quarters, with potentially four people in a one bedroom house,” said Allison Plyer, The Data Center’s chief demographer. “That means it’s very hard to quarantine. A major way the virus is spread is among family members.”
This story was originally published April 3, 2020 at 3:52 PM with the headline "New Orleans has highest coronavirus death rate of all hard-hit areas in US, data shows."
