Grim Report Shows Louisiana Deaths Rose 30% In 2020

More Louisianans died last year than in a typical year, a grim new analysis shows. According to The New Orleans Advocate, deaths in Louisiana rose to more than 56,000 in 2020, about a 30% increase from the average of 43,000 in a given year, likely due to the coronavirus pandemic. The increase in Louisiana deaths follows a national trend, the newspaper reports.

"A lot of people who are skeptical of COVID and the impact of COVID have been arguing that deaths are being overestimated," said Mark VanLandingham, professor at Tulane University's School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. "I feel really confident that even (this analysis) is going to underestimate the real impact of COVID."

According to data from the Louisiana Department of Health, the state saw a 45.5% and 42.4% increase in accidental deaths and homicides, respectively, as well as a 29% increase in natural deaths, which includes COVID-19.

The increase in deaths also include overdoses and people who didn't seek medical treatment for causes they would have usually sought in an average year. An expert compared the numbers to that of another event that devastated Louisiana.

"I don't think we have a good understanding of it," said Patricia Kissinger, infectious disease epidemiologist at Tulane University. "Just like Katrina, we may never know the echo effects."

VanLandingham agreed, saying it's unclear what the future impact of the disease could hold for the state or for those who have survived the illness.

"That's uncharted water," he said. "There might be a lot of premature death in the future for people who go this. We just don't know."

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