"GUT CHECK" - At his press conference yesterday afternoon Governor John Bel Edwards urged Louisiana residents to “do a real gut check” about whether they are taking enough personal precautions to lessen their coronavirus risk. Edwards was reacting to the latest data showing a worrying rise in Covid-19 cases in Louisiana over the last week. More than 4,200 new cases of the COVID-19 disease have been confirmed in Louisiana since June 10th.
"The numbers that we've been seeing over the last several days prove that we just can't afford to become complacent," Edwards said. "There are several regions of our state now that have developed into areas of real
concern. And it illustrates the point that situation changes when our behavior changes and that's for good or for ill. That's what happens."
Edwards' warnings comes as more businesses have reopened and restrictions on activities have loosened. State officials say increased testing capacity doesn’t explain the entire number, and only 9% of the cases came from enclosed group settings, like nursing homes.
The Acadiana, Lake Charles and central Louisiana regions are seeing rises in hospitalizations and evidence points to community spread among the general population. Louisiana’s Covid-19 case count totals more than 48,000 with over 2900 deaths reported.
