NEW ORLEANS — As coronavirus case counts rise in Louisiana so has the need for testing, leading to delayed results and and test shortages.
Wednesday, however, a federal testing site returned to the city to speed up the testing process.
Supported by the Louisiana National Guard, sure testing is scheduled to begin at the University of New Orleans Lakefront Arena as a drive-thru testing site, open 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
New Orleans city leaders say the drive-thru site is similar to the one set up in Baton Rouge, where about 5,000 tests were offered daily. The overall goal is to increase testing.
Renewing testing supplies, which has been an issue in multiple cities across the country, is also part of the program. They will use similar kits to those sent from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to Baton Rouge.
Officials say the site will start at UNO, where one of the nation's first coronavirus testing pilot programs launched in March, but may be rotated to different universities.
The site re-opens as cases continue to increase in Louisiana. East Baton Rouge reported their 10,000th case Wednesday, surpassing Orleans for the second-most in the state.
Jefferson Parish has the most newly reported cases since the start of the pandemic.
Governor John Bel Edwards announced that Louisiana is the number one state per capita for COVID-19 cases, now ahead of New York.
While Edwards attributed Louisiana's virus tracking abilities to a massive increase in testing statewide, he says the results of all that testing are coming back too late.
Medical experts say they are seeing an uptick of people coming to Louisiana hospitals for virus treatment. They say a main reason is because people are not wearing masks, not properly social distancing and still gathering in large groups.
