BATON ROUGE - After a surge in hospitalizations caused a huge strain on doctors and nurses in recent months, Louisiana reports the number of patients hospitalized with the coronavirus has dropped to its lowest point since late July.

On Thursday, the Louisiana Department of Health reported 1,192 people were being treated for the virus in hospitals statewide with 218 on ventilators. About 88 percent of those hospitalizations were reported in people who weren't fully vaccinated, according to the state.

It's the lowest hospitalizations have been since July 24, when the state reported that  number at 1,165.

Just over a month ago, Louisiana was reporting more than 3,000 COVID hospitalizations, the most its had since the onset of the pandemic last year. 

While hospitalizations have been on the decline in recent weeks, the state has also reported a significant increase in deaths tied to the virus in that same timeframe.

Louisiana also reported another 1,517 coronavirus cases Thursday, with a positivity rate of about 5.12 percent on new tests.