The Louisiana Department of Health today did not release new daily numbers on the coronavirus pandemic, but Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said the numbers leading up to today have been going in the wrong direction. The governor said the increase can't be blamed on testing backlogs.
"Since June 10th, we've added more than 4,200 new COVID-19 cases across the state. That's in seven days," said Edwards. "Most of the new cases did not come from nursing homes or other congregant settings, so what that means is they were the result of community spread."
The governor said there are too many people ignoring health precautions -- not staying home enough, not social distancing, and not wearing masks when interacting with others in public -- and it is showing in the numbers.
Dr. Alex Billioux with the Louisiana Department of Health says fewer than ten percent of new cases so far are coming from congregant settings -- places or events where a lot of people have gathered -- whether that's nursing homes, church services, or protest marches.