Mayor LaToya Cantrell said Tuesday that most of this weekend's public events, including all St. Patrick's and St. Joseph's Day parades, are canceled to prevent further spread of the new coronavirus.

This weekend's canceled events include the Wednesday at the Square, the Downtown St. Patrick's Day parade, Irish Channel St. Patrick's Day parade, the Italian American parade, the Single Men Social Aid and Pleasure Club second line and Uptown's Super Sunday event, Cantrell said at a press conference.

2 new coronavirus cases in New Orleans are at two different hospitals in town Louisiana's two latest presumptive cases of the novel coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, are being handled by University Medical Center and …

The Mayor's Masked Ball, an annual fundraiser held for Xavier and Dillard universities, is still currently on for this weekend, Cantrell said, because it is a private event.

Cantrell said that with the three presumptive cases, "the concern has grown," and that officials were aiming to be proactive to limit the spread of the virus.

Other city officials echoed those comments.

“At large events like parades and second lines, we see attendees interacting very closely for an extended period of time,” said Dr. Jennifer Avegno, the head of the city’s health department. “In order to prevent further spread, the health department has recommended to the mayor and her public safety team to cancel this week’s special events.”

The announcement comes hours after state officials confirmed two cases of presumptive COVID-19, putting the state's coronavirus case count at three patients.

The two new cases were announced after the state's first presumptive COVID-19 case was reported at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in New Orleans. The three patients are being housed at separate hospitals — one at the VA Hospital, University Medical Center and Touro Infirmary.

All three cases are presumed positive until the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirms the results, which officials at the press conference could come in another day or so.

Sources: J WHO, CDC, NHC, Dingxiangyuan and Johns Hopkins Center for Systems Science and Engineering

Earlier Tuesday, Gov. John Bel Edwards said the state's residents should prepare for a spike in cases as commercial labs begin testing. Louisiana health officials reported that 35 people were tested for COVID-19, an increase from 15 tests done Monday.

The coronavirus has infected nearly 114,000 people globally and killed more than 4,000, leading to factory shutdowns, travel bans, closings of schools and stores, and cancellations of conventions and other gatherings. In the United States, the number of infected people climbed to around 650, with at least 25 deaths.

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