BATON ROUGE - Hospitalizations tied to the coronavirus in Louisiana have dropped to their lowest point since July, months after the state first started seeing its fourth surge in cases.

The state reported Thursday that 1,825 people were hospitalized with the virus statewide, down from a state record 3,022 on Aug. 17. Hospitalizations dipped below 2,000 statewide for the first time in over a month this week.

While the strain on hospitals appeared to be on the decline in recent weeks, it's been accompanied by a surging death rate that caused the statewide toll to swell to 12,992 as of Sept. 9. At the start of August, the Louisiana Department of Health was reporting 10,999 deaths. 

Last month, Louisiana broke its previous record for COVID deaths reported in a single day—which was set during the height of the pandemic last year—when it reported 139 deaths on Aug. 25. The state has generally reported a heightened death rate tied to the virus since the most recent surge took hold around the start of July.

The state also reported 4,903 new cases on Thursday, but health officials have said that Hurricane Ida and its aftermath have affected testing efforts in many southeast parishes.