More presumptive positive cases of COVID-19 were documented in Louisiana.
Cases are being monitored in Orleans Parish and St. Tammany Parish.
As of Wednesday, March 11, state health officials reported the following:
- 6 presumptive positive cases
- 0 confirmed by the CDC
Five patients are residents of Orleans Parish. A sixth patient is a resident of Jefferson Parish.
Meanwhile, CDC Director Robert Redfield reports that U.S. virus deaths are now up to 31 and confirmed cases are over 1,000 nationwide.
Presumptive positive tests will be sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for final confirmation of COVID-19. Louisiana will move forward as if the tests are actual positives and take actions to contain the illness and assess the risk of spread. Presumptive cases remain classified as such until confirmed at the CDC. The CDC can take several days to return test results to the state.
Testing begins in city hospitals. Patients suspected of infection are assessed by hospital staff. The staff then requests a state courier come pick up a sample that’s sent to a state lab in Baton Rouge for testing.
Health officials say some private laboratories in Louisiana are also able to test for COVID-19. Healthcare providers will send some samples to those private labs.
The Louisiana Department of Health (LDH) will be notified of any presumptive positive results that come from a commercial lab.
“Appropriate treatment and precautions will immediately be put in place for any positive commercial test before that test is confirmed by the state lab, and the public will be notified,” state health officials said.
Officials expect commercial testing will dramatically increase the number of people able to be tested.
The state initially received 1,000 test kits. Later, the state received two bundles of 500 kits each. Testing for a single person can take between three to four kits, Governor John Bel Edwards said, so having 2,000 kits doesn’t mean 2,000 people can be tested. In-state testing means presumptive results can be returned quicker.
Officials say they’re treating presumptive positive cases as actual positives and will take action to contain the spread of the virus.
NEW ORLEANS AREA CASES:
The state’s first presumptive positive COVID-19 case hospitalized a Jefferson Parish resident. The patient is isolated at the VA Hospital in Orleans Parish, multiple reports said.
Gov. Edwards announced the case Monday, March 9 just minutes before giving opening remarks for the start of the three-month 2020 legislative session at the Louisiana State Capitol.
He said he learned of the news while on a conference call with Vice President Mike Pence.
Both the governor and New Orleans Mayor Latoya Cantrell withheld details about the patient in separate media appearances.
Cantrell, however, disclosed the patient visited an emergency room presenting pneumonia-like symptoms, which worsened over several days.
State officials confirmed that case is not associated with travel to a foreign country.
“At this point in our investigation, we believe the first presumptive positive announced [March 9] is not travel-related and was community acquired,” said Dr. Alex Billious, assistant secretary of the Office of Public Health.
Edwards announced four additional presumptive positive cases in Orleans Parish the following day, March 10.
Two of those patients are at Touro and at University Medical Center, both in Orleans Parish.
Cantrell said at a news conference later that afternoon one of the patients is currently in the ICU.
State health officials are “contact tracing” those patients, meaning they’re reaching out to those who have been in close contact with those patients and requesting they be tested.
“For anyone who is presumed positive we will also be completing what epidemiologists call ‘contact tracing’ to make sure we are assessing the risk to the people who have come into contact with them and complete additional testing to prevent the spread,” said Gov. Edwards.
“The CDC still believes the risk to the general public is low, but we will work quickly and decisively to assess the risk to those around this patient,” he said.
ST. TAMMANY PARISH CASE:
Health officials announced late on March 10 that a resident of Orleans Parish was hospitalized in St. Tammany Parish with a presumptive positive test result.
Details about the patient were withheld by officials.
PLANNED UPDATES:
Gov. Edwards has vowed to be transparent about all presumptive positive cases confirmed in the state.
The governor will hold a news conference to discuss the presumptive cases announced at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 11.
Before that conference, he’s scheduled to meet with his unified command group in Baton Rouge.
State health officials have said they will not disclose demographic information about patients in their updates.
NOT A MATTER OF IF, IT’S A MATTER OF WHEN:
Gov. Edwards has cautioned Louisianans against panicking about new cases.
State health officials say they’ve always expected to see more presumptive positive cases of the virus pop up. Officials ask residents to remain calm.
“Now is the time for seriousness; there is no place for panic or hysteria,” said Edwards.
Edwards directed the creation of a task force weeks before the state’s first presumptive case.
“Louisiana has been preparing for this moment for many weeks,” Edwards said when announcing the first presumptive case.
Residents are advised to maintain proper hygiene by:
- Staying home if sick
- Covering their cough
- Washing their hands frequently and thoroughly with soap and water. Hand sanitizer containing at least 60% alcohol should be used if soap isn’t available.
- Disinfecting frequently touched surfaces
- Maintaining at least six feet of distances with sick people
“I am asking all Louisianans to remain vigilant as we work to contain the spread of this and other illnesses,” said Edwards.
“We can limit this, but it’s going to require everyone to do their part,” said Edwards. “It looks as though this is going to get worse for some period before it gets better, but how much worse is really dependent on whether people do what we’re telling them.”
COVID-19 is a new strain of coronavirus, a family of viruses known to cause a range of respiratory illnesses.
Symptoms of the coronavirus can include fever, cough, shortness of breath, or difficulty breathing. The CDC believes symptoms of COVID-19 may appear in as few as two days or as long as 14 days after exposure to the virus.
Symptoms may be mild for some healthy individuals. In older adults and individuals with existing health issues, COVID-19 can lead to severe respiratory illnesses.
It’s spread through respiratory droplets produced through coughing and sneezing, or by touching your face, nose, or eyes after touching a surface contaminated with the virus.
The virus is not a death sentence as rumored on social media. Recovery can happen in a matter of weeks, health officials have stressed.
“Now together we all, as government, as healthcare systems and providers, as schools, businesses and as neighbors, must take actions and be vigilant to prevent the spread of this virus in our great state,” said Edwards
Louisianans with questions are asked to call LDH’s general information line at 1-855-523-2652 between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
More information is also available on LDH’s website linked here.
