The number of diagnosed coronavirus cases in Louisiana spiked drastically to 1,172 on Monday as thousands of tests were registered, the Louisiana Department of Health said, with the number of deaths attributed to the virus also spiking by 14 to 34 total.

The majority of Louisiana's known cases are in metro New Orleans.

The spike of 335 new cases from Sunday to Monday marks the largest single-day rise in new cases since testing began and as the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals shifts from twice-daily updates to a single update at noon.

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The second largest increase was 226 on March 21 as a surge of results from private labs began to be included along with tests by state-run labs. That volume has continued to be a factor, with total tests in Louisiana now up to 5,948. That number also marked the highest single-day spike of total tests completed, a 24-hour increase of 2,450 from the March 22 total of 3,498 tests completed and 837 diagnosed cases of coronavirus.

Four days prior on March 19 just 899 tests had been completed, with a total of 392 cases in Louisiana.

It's important to remember this type of spike in known coronavirus cases has been expected with the surge of results from private labs, but it's still striking.



As of March 19

- Tests: 899

- Total known cases: 392



As of March 23

- Tests: 5,948

- Total known cases: 1,172 https://t.co/VwBUSOrUBq pic.twitter.com/5gxo3bqlVi — Jeff Nowak (@Jeff_Nowak) March 23, 2020

Louisiana's death toll includes eight deaths at Lambeth House, the senior-living complex in Uptown New Orleans. A 90-year-old man's death last week was deemed "completely unrelated," but he has been posthumously confirmed to have had the virus.

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The new figures come as Louisiana prepares for a statewide stay-at-home order starting at 5 p.m. Monday. The order, announced Sunday by the governor, is geared at stopping the community spread of COVID-19.

As of Sunday, Louisiana had the fastest growth rate of confirmed cases in the world, Gov. John Bel Edwards said, citing a University of Louisiana at Lafayette study. Louisiana ranks third in the nation — behind New York and Washington State — in per capita cases of people infected with the deadly novel coronavirus.

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As of Monday, the state is releasing updated coronavirus numbers at noon daily via its website. Previously, the numbers were released at 9:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. daily. The figures includes test results from state and commercial labs.

Here's the parish breakdown in the metro area of known coronavirus cases as of noon Monday:

Orleans : 567 known cases; 20 deaths

: 567 known cases; 20 deaths Jefferson : 252 known cases; 5 deaths

: 252 known cases; 5 deaths St. Tammany : 47 known cases

: 47 known cases St. Bernard : 15 known cases

: 15 known cases St. Charles : 15 known cases

: 15 known cases St. John the Baptist : 16 known cases

: 16 known cases Lafourche : 15 known cases

: 15 known cases Plaquemines : 8 known cases

: 8 known cases Tangipahoa : 3 known cases

: 3 known cases Terrebonne: 14 known cases

See the full parish breakdown via our tracking map.

While the majority of known cases are still in metro New Orleans, cases are now being diagnosed across the state, with 41 of Louisiana's 64 parishes — including many rural ones — now reporting known cases.

Much of the increase is from commercial testing, which has ramped up in the past week. Of the 5,945 tests that have been completed as of Monday, 4,314 of those tests were processed by private labs and registered in the past few days.

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There are three drive-thru testing sites in metro New Orleans open to anyone with a fever:

University of New Orleans Lakefront Arena Parking Lot: 6801 Franklin Ave.

Mahalia Jackson Theater Parking Lot: 1419 Basin St.

Alario Center Parking Lot: 2000 Segnette Blvd., Westwego

The sites open at 8 a.m. and have limited tests (100 at each New Orleans site and 250 at the Alario Center). See more about the testing.

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Meanwhile, the health department loosened its coronavirus testing criteria Saturday, dropping a requirement that patients first test negative for the flu. That requirement had been put in place amid a serious shortage of coronavirus tests and was aimed at determining whether symptoms were caused by the flu instead.

People seeking a coronavirus test will still need to show symptoms of illness — including a fever over 100.4 degrees — but won't need to have tests done to rule out the flu first, said Kevin Litten, an LDH spokesman.

Staffers Orlando Flores and Carlie Kollath Wells contributed to this story.

Want to know more about coronavirus in Louisiana? See all of our coverage.