There are 13 confirmed coronavirus cases in Louisiana, Gov. John Bel Edwards said Wednesday.
Affected parishes include Orleans, Jefferson, Iberia, St. Tammany, Caddo and Lafourche, Edwards said Wednesday, when he declared a Public Health emergency in the state.
The first coronavirus case in Louisiana was confirmed by state health officials Monday.
The Louisiana Department of Health said the case was a Jefferson Parish resident who has been hospitalized in Orleans Parish.
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“While today is the first time that we can confirm that we have a presumptive positive coronavirus case, Louisiana has been preparing for this moment for many weeks,” Edwards said. “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.”
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“We were able to test this patient due to recently broadened criteria,” said Stephen Russo, interim secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health. “It’s critical to be able to catch COVID-19 early to prevent spread in our communities.”
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“Now together we all—as a government, as health care systems and providers, as schools, businesses and as neighbors—must take action and be vigilant to prevent the spread of this virus in our great state,” the governor said.
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Fear about the coronavirus outbreak Monday touched off prison riots in Italy, sent global stock markets and oil prices plunging, and caused a cascading shutdown of sites and events ranging from Saudi schools to Poland's annual Holocaust remembrance march.
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Global oil prices suffered their worst percentage losses since the start of the 1991 Gulf War, and U.S. stocks plunged so quickly in the first few minutes after markets opened that it triggered a 15-minute halt in trading.
More than 111,000 people have tested positive for the disease and more than 3,800 people with the virus have died, most of them in China. More than 62,000 people have already recovered.
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