BATON ROUGE - More than 5,000 new coronavirus cases were reported in Louisiana on Thursday as hospitalizations gradually decline from record highs set in recent weeks.

The Louisiana Department of Health said 5,131 cases were reported since Wednesday, with a positivity of about 8.8 percent on recent tests. Hospitalizations dropped down to 2,729, though there are still more patients in hospitals now than at any other point last year. 

The state also reported 72 additional deaths since Wednesday, including a juvenile who died with COVID. 

Another 59,679 vaccine doses were administered across the state since Monday, continuing Louisiana's trend of growing vaccination numbers. Nearly half the state has gotten at least their first shot of the vaccine as of Thursday, according to state data.