Louisiana has largest daily spike in virus cases since April

Associated Press

4 years ago

Swarnamala Ratnayaka prepares RNA for testing for the new coronavirus at the molecular pathology lab at Tulane University School of Medicine in New Orleans, Thursday, April 2, 2020. The test is identical to the PCR test being used by the Centers for Disease Control to ease the testing crisis and stop the spread of COVID-19, which has hit the New Orleans area especially hard. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Louisiana is seeing its largest daily coronavirus case spike since April, during the height of the state’s outbreak.

Nearly 2,100 new cases of the COVID-19 disease caused by the coronavirus were confirmed over the last day in Louisiana residents, and hospitalizations continued to tick upward.

The trend is worrying public health experts that Louisiana’s once successful efforts to slow infections are being undermined by a complacent public ignoring recommended precautions.

Baton Rouge mayor Sharon Weston Broome on Wednesday signed an executive order that requires people to wear face coverings when they are inside a business. New Orleans already has a mask requirement for nearly all activities in the city.