BATON ROUGE–Louisiana has two more presumptive positive cases of the coronavirus in the New Orleans area, bringing the total to three, Gov. John Bel Edwards announced Tuesday.
The cases are presumptive until they are confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control.
The patients are at University Medical Center, Touro and the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in New Orleans, according to The Advocate.
“It is important that the public take measures to protect their health and reduce the spread of illness, including avoiding going out in public when you are sick, washing your hands, social distancing and disinfecting commonly used surfaces,” Edwards said.
The governor will hold a meeting of the Unified Command Group Wednesday afternoon to discuss the situation. He will hold a news conference after that.
Edwards said he expects to see more presumptive positives in the coming days and weeks as the state expands testing for COVID-19.
“I am asking all Louisianans to remain vigilant as we work to contain the spread of this and other illnesses,” he said
As of Tuesday afternoon, at least 955 people in 36 states and Washington, D.C. have tested positive for coronavirus, according to a New York Times database, and at least 29 patients with the virus have died.
“Additionally, older people may consider additional measures like avoiding any kind of unnecessary airline travel and reducing their public interactions to avoid their potential exposure to illness,” Edwards said.