NEW ORLEANS – The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the state of Louisiana topped 100 for the first time today.
Louisiana started the day with 91 cases statewide, a number that jumped to 103 at the 5:30 p.m. update, according to numbers released by the Louisiana Department of Health.
Seventy-five of those cases are concentrated in Orleans Parish, up 10 from this morning. Ten parishes across the state have confirmed coronavirus cases.
The state lab has completed testing 284 coronavirus tests as of 5:30 p.m. on March 15. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention formally announced earlier in the day that the official Louisiana state tests were certified and did not need to be backed up by CDC tests.
Two Louisiana residents have died from the coronavirus so far, both in Orleans Parish.
Mayor LaToya Cantrell said at a press conference shortly before the statewide numbers were updated that the state will soon begin participating in a pilot program that provides drive-through testing for the coronavirus.
Details of that test are not yet available.