Most of the initial cases began in Louisiana in a retirement home, so those who have "finished" the course of the virus tend toward being very old. I suspect the cfr will grow to more closely mirror that of other states as time goes on. Having almost all of the initial cases appear in one of four nursing homes that are considered "hotspots" in south Louisiana will definitely skew the cfr during these initial weeks.

Does not explain the higher rates of infection in NOLA -- no idea about that, aside from Mardi Gras -- but the nursing home hotspots kinda explain the higher cfr we see at the present moment.