I have some info from 8/20/2020 that may be outdated by now, but should provide a little insight as to how we are doing with COVID in the BR area. It's a long read, but the information is there...
August 20, 2020
As you were probably aware, we conducted a COVID-19 Prevalence Study in Ascension, East Baton Rouge, Livingston and West Baton Rouge Parishes between July 15-31. The study was funded by the Louisiana COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force and The Humana Foundation, with additional support from The Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana Foundation and Healthy Blue, with special thanks to Baton Rouge Area Foundation for pulling all of these groups together.
I again want to thank everyone involved in making this study possible. We are grateful for the teams of people it took spanning many long days and several weekends. You are the reason we achieved our testing goals! We publicly released data from the study late Thursday morning. The findings were analyzed to determine how widespread the virus is, and which populations have been most impacted. Over 2,100 volunteers received free COVID-19 PCR testing and antibody testing representing a mini Greater Baton Rouge area.
Key Facts & Findings:
• 6.6% of Greater Baton Rouge residents (18+) have been infected with COVID-19.
o 3.0% tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) but not antibodies, indicating that they are likely infectious. Projected to the larger population, we estimate more than 16,000 residents had an active infection at the time of testing.
o More than 60% of those with an active infection had no symptoms at the time of the test (projected 10,000 residents)
o 3.6% tested positive for antibodies, meaning they were recovering from the disease or had completely recovered. Projected to the larger population, we estimate 19,843 residents with antibodies.
• Active COVID-19 infections were most prominent in West Baton Rouge (5.3%) and Livingston (4.2%) Parishes.
o Active infection rates were lower in East Baton Rouge (2.8%) and Ascension (1.9%) Parishes.
• Black residents had the highest rate of past infection (positive antibodies), while Hispanic residents had higher rates of active infection.
o Antibodies were found in 7.5% of Black residents, 1.8% of White residents and 1.6% of Hispanic residents.
o Active COVID-19 infections were found in 10.1% of Hispanic residents, 3.5% of Black residents and 2.4% of White residents.
• Anosmia (loss of smell and taste) was associated with 8.5 times higher odds of testing positive.
o Comorbidities did not influence whether someone caught the virus - they influence the outcome. In fact, people with no comorbidities had higher odds of testing positive.
Three Important Things the Study Tells Us:
1. It’s important for us to continue wearing masks, social distancing and constantly washing our hands.
2. If you experience loss of smell or taste, seek out a test or self-quarantine for 14 days to protect those around you.
3. Virus spread of less than 10% indicates we are not close to herd immunity, which would occur with an exposure rate of approximately 70-80%.
This data doesn’t mean that we should go back to closures. It tells us that wearing masks and physical distancing make a HUGE difference and that we can advance activities much quicker if we all do these things. It’s our responsibility to educate everyone that they may not know when they are infectious, therefore they should wear a mask always.
We are using this data to help determine where we should hold community testing. We have completed more than 70,000 community COVID-19 tests across the state since May.
Please stay safe and thank you.
August 20, 2020
As you were probably aware, we conducted a COVID-19 Prevalence Study in Ascension, East Baton Rouge, Livingston and West Baton Rouge Parishes between July 15-31. The study was funded by the Louisiana COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force and The Humana Foundation, with additional support from The Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana Foundation and Healthy Blue, with special thanks to Baton Rouge Area Foundation for pulling all of these groups together.
I again want to thank everyone involved in making this study possible. We are grateful for the teams of people it took spanning many long days and several weekends. You are the reason we achieved our testing goals! We publicly released data from the study late Thursday morning. The findings were analyzed to determine how widespread the virus is, and which populations have been most impacted. Over 2,100 volunteers received free COVID-19 PCR testing and antibody testing representing a mini Greater Baton Rouge area.
Key Facts & Findings:
• 6.6% of Greater Baton Rouge residents (18+) have been infected with COVID-19.
o 3.0% tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) but not antibodies, indicating that they are likely infectious. Projected to the larger population, we estimate more than 16,000 residents had an active infection at the time of testing.
o More than 60% of those with an active infection had no symptoms at the time of the test (projected 10,000 residents)
o 3.6% tested positive for antibodies, meaning they were recovering from the disease or had completely recovered. Projected to the larger population, we estimate 19,843 residents with antibodies.
• Active COVID-19 infections were most prominent in West Baton Rouge (5.3%) and Livingston (4.2%) Parishes.
o Active infection rates were lower in East Baton Rouge (2.8%) and Ascension (1.9%) Parishes.
• Black residents had the highest rate of past infection (positive antibodies), while Hispanic residents had higher rates of active infection.
o Antibodies were found in 7.5% of Black residents, 1.8% of White residents and 1.6% of Hispanic residents.
o Active COVID-19 infections were found in 10.1% of Hispanic residents, 3.5% of Black residents and 2.4% of White residents.
• Anosmia (loss of smell and taste) was associated with 8.5 times higher odds of testing positive.
o Comorbidities did not influence whether someone caught the virus - they influence the outcome. In fact, people with no comorbidities had higher odds of testing positive.
Three Important Things the Study Tells Us:
1. It’s important for us to continue wearing masks, social distancing and constantly washing our hands.
2. If you experience loss of smell or taste, seek out a test or self-quarantine for 14 days to protect those around you.
3. Virus spread of less than 10% indicates we are not close to herd immunity, which would occur with an exposure rate of approximately 70-80%.
This data doesn’t mean that we should go back to closures. It tells us that wearing masks and physical distancing make a HUGE difference and that we can advance activities much quicker if we all do these things. It’s our responsibility to educate everyone that they may not know when they are infectious, therefore they should wear a mask always.
We are using this data to help determine where we should hold community testing. We have completed more than 70,000 community COVID-19 tests across the state since May.
Please stay safe and thank you.
