NEW ORLEANS– With the holidays approaching Louisiana is seeing more people lining up to get tested for Covid-19.
Thanksgiving is one of the busiest times of the year, but this year travel is down because of the pandemic and city leaders say that’s actually a good thing.
“When people travel they are cross pollinating households and you get potential danger for spread. The CDC has been clear on asking that you only celebrate the holiday this year with your immediate household group,” Beau Tidwell, Communications Manager for the City of New Orleans said.
Although travel is down, something that is up is the number of folks lining up at testing sites and clinics to get Covid tests before Thanksgiving.
“I want to make sure I’m doing my responsibility and getting tested, and that I’m not contracting and spreading Covid, unkonwingly,” Colleen Frampton, a Grandmother said.
“We do want to encourage people to get tested. However, a negative test doesn’t make you invincible. You can get tested, and then 20 minutes later, you get exposed and take that to Grandma,” Tidwell said.
“I think it is the right thing to do to not only take care of ourselves, but the people we are around it is just imperative,” Frampton said.
Home for the holidays has a different meaning when there is a health crisis.
New Orleans is averaging about 75 new cases per day, and the positivity rate is at 1.8 percent right now.