Commercial testing update
Before Friday, LDH reported COVID-19 cases by parish of residence while it reported on tests by the parish where those tests are administered. The Department did this because it was based on data received from commercial labs, but this made it harder to understand the full picture of what COVID-19 testing capacity looked like across the state.

LDH has designed a rigorous method for reporting commercial tests by parish of residence. If it is unclear what the parish of residence is for a person tested, LDH will cross reference using Medicaid information and if that doesn’t work then it will consult LexisNexis.

Up until now, this was a manual process. Taking the time to do this comprehensive review allowed the LDH team to put into place the algorithm to shift from commercial tests reported to commercial tests performed because this is a more meaningful indicator. In making this shift there is a discrepancy of about 35,000 tests. Updated commercial testing data is now on the dashboard. This update does not impact the positive case count.

Tests are assigned to parish based on the location the test is administered, not the parish of residence of the individual being tested. Case and death counts are assigned to Parishes based on patient residence. Patients may be hospitalized or seek care outside their Parish of residence.

All information on the LDH website reflects the most current information provided to the State. It is subject to change based on further investigations, and will be updated accordingly.