UPDATE: (03/11/2020 10:25 AM) BATON ROUGE, La. — The number of presumptive positive coronavirus cases in Louisiana has increased to six.

According to the Louisiana Department of Health, the Department had completed 43 tests for COVID-19 as of 10 PM on Tuesday night. They say that of those 43 tests, six are presumptive positive and the rest are negative.

The LDH says that the three new patients are all residents of Orleans Parish. Two are being hospitalized in Orleans Parish and one is hospitalized in St. Tammany parish.

UPDATE: (03/10/2020 3:00 PM) BATON ROUGE, La. — Gov. John Bel Edwards has announced that the Louisiana Department of Health has two new presumptive positive cases of COVID-19 which brings the total number of presumptive positive cases in the state to three.

According to a statement from Gov. Edwards, the two new cases are in the New Orleans area. Gov. Edwards also said in part, “We expect to see more presumptive positives in the coming days and weeks and I am asking all Louisianans to remain vigilant as we work to contain the spread of this and other illnesses.”

Gov. Edwards will hold a meeting of the Unified Command Group tomorrow afternoon and will follow up with a news conference at 4:30 PM.

UPDATE: BATON ROUGE, La. — The first presumptive positive case of COVID-19 in Louisiana has been reported, according to the Governor’s Office.

Watch the video below to see the full press conference.

The Louisiana Department of Health reports that the patient is a Jefferson Parish resident who is hospitalized in Orleans Parish. At this time, this is the only known case of the virus in the state.

Gov. Edwards said, “While today is the first time that we can confirm that we have a presumptive positive coronavirus case, Louisiana has been preparing for this moment for many weeks. The CDC still believes the risk to the general public is low, but we will work quickly and decisively to assess the risk to those around this patient.”

The next step is to send the presumptive positive test to the CDC for final confirmation of COVID-19.

State officials encourage Louisianans to take the following proactive steps to protect the health of themselves and those around them:

Cover your cough.

Stay home if you are sick.

Wash your hands frequently and thoroughly with soap and water, or with a hand sanitizer containing at least 60% alcohol if soap and water are not available.

Disinfect frequently touched surfaces.

Avoiding close contact (within six feet) with those who are sick.

Symptoms can include fever, cough and shortness of breath or difficulty breathing. CDC believes at this time that symptoms of COVID-19 may appear in as few as two days or as long as 14 days after exposure.

UPDATE: BATON ROUGE, La. — According to the Louisiana Department of Health, 11 people have been tested so far for COVID19 in the state and all have returned negative.

They say that there are no confirmed or presumptive positive cases in Louisiana so far.

ORIGINAL: BATON ROUGE, La. (The Advocate) – Our partners at The Advocate report a week after gaining the capacity to test for the novel coronavirus, Louisiana had tested five patients for the virus as of Friday, all with negative results.

And officials took steps to expand the number of people being tested, broadening the criteria for who is eligible for one of the limited number of tests here after the federal government told doctors they can use their discretion for when a patient should be screened for the virus.

Louisiana still had no confirmed cases Friday, as the virus continued spreading across the world, infecting more than 100,000 globally, including more than 250 in the U.S.

While most people infected with the virus experience mild symptoms, the virus had killed at least 15 in the U.S. as of Friday, mostly in Washington.

Read more on this story here.

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