NEW ORLEANS — More than 2,000 people tested positive for the coronavirus in Louisiana Wednesday, the third-largest spike since the global pandemic began.
After many weeks of moving in the right direction, Gov. John Bel Edwards said Louisiana is seeing a sustained increase in cases, reporting more cases than any other day since April.
“Today is obviously July the 1st, and I will tell you that over the second half of June we lost all of the progress that we made in the month of June in terms of hospitalizations," the governor said. "In terms of cases, in several regions, they’re actually back to the highest they’ve ever been.”
Testing more patients has led to more positive case numbers, but what’s concerning — in the Baton Rouge area in particular but also elsewhere in Louisiana — is that the percentage of positive test results is rising because that means the infection rate is rising, Edwards said.
According to the Louisiana Dept. of Health, 2,083 people tested positive for the coronavirus on July 1. That's 8.8% of the 23,577 tests processed that day.
By comparison, 23,874 more coronavirus tests were processed Tuesday with a positive rate of about 4.2%. Because of that, Louisiana is back on the White House Coronavirus Task Force’s radar, the governor said.
Edwards said that increase is of so much concern that it has qualified to be one of three Dept. of Health and Human Services testing efforts that will allow for 5,000 more tests in the Baton Rouge area.
The governor noted measures manding face masks in Orleans, Jefferson and East Baton Rouge parishes, thanking local officials for those moves.
A White House report said East Baton Rouge should have a face mask mandate because of the increase in the percentage of positive coronavirus test results.
According to the LDH, the collection dates for the cases reported today range from June 13 to July 1. They added that 98% of the positives reported today are from community spread and just under half of the positives are people under 30-years-old.
Hospitalizations have also continued to increase, with 18 more COVID-19 patients admitted to Louisiana hospitals. Ventilator usage also increased slightly, with the number of patients on ventilators increasing by one to 84.
The governor said there's a lot that people can do to help slow the spread of the virus, including wearing a face mask when outside and near others, socially distancing, washing hands frequently, and staying home when feeling sick.
During the Wednesday press conference addressing the sustained increase in coronavirus cases, the governor said he would not be adding any additional measures then, and to avoid doing so in the future enforcement of restrictions will be more robust.
"We are going to increase enforcement because we don't want to go back to reducing occupancy if we can avoid it. We don't want to close more business and so forth if we can avoid it," Edwards said. "We also don't want a few bad actors, people who are just not honoring the restrictions that are in place."
Echoing a call to the public made by Jefferson Parish President Cynthia Lee Sheng, the governor asked the public to avoid businesses not in compliance with coronavirus guidelines.
"I'm requesting — I'm urging the general public: Don't patronize businesses that are not conducting themselves in a safe matter and in accordance with the restrictions that are in place," Edwards said. "You're safer at home than anywhere else, but if you're going to out and patronize businesses, patronize those that are interested in your safety."
Community spread accounts for almost all of the new cases, Edwards said. Only 2% of new coronavirus cases are coming from congregations; the other 98% is community spread.
Here are the daily coronavirus statistics for Wednesday, July 1 from the Louisiana Department of Health. Changes from the day before are noted:
- Cases: 60,178 (+2,083)
- Deaths: 3,130 (+17)
- Patients in hospitals: 799 (+18)
- Patients on ventilators: 84 (+1)
- Recoveries: 42,225 (Updated on Mondays)
- Total tests performed: 752,088 (+23,577)
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