La.’s first ‘presumptive’ case of coronavirus reported in Orleans Parish

By Mike Scott, mscott@stph.org

Louisiana’s first “presumptive” case of COVID-19 coronavirus was reported Monday (March 9) by Gov. John Bel Edwards’ office. The test is being sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for final confirmation.

The patient was not identified, but a news release issued midday Monday by the governor’s office said he or she lives in Jefferson Parish and is being hospitalized in New Orleans. 

No positive cases have been reported in St. Tammany Parish, although staff at St. Tammany Health System in Covington have been preparing for the possibility for several weeks.

Because of the reliability of the test, Louisiana health officials will move forward as if the presumptive positive case in Orleans Parish is an actual positive and take actions to contain the illness and assess the risk of spread, the governor’s office said.

That includes an investigation by the state Office of Public Health’s epidemiology team of people who have come in close contact with the patient, including health care workers, to determine the risk of spread.

“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,” Edwards said. “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.”

Louisiana becomes the 35th U.S. state or district, including Washington D.C., to report a case of COVID-19, the contagious respiratory disease commonly referred to as “coronavirus.” The current outbreak began in Wuhan, China, and has since spread to multiple countries.

The Louisiana case brings to 423 the number of positive U.S. cases reported by the CDC. Nineteen of those cases have so far proven fatal. Generally speaking, patients of advanced age and those with compromised immune systems are most at risk of complications from COVID-19.

Locally, St. Tammany Health System Infection Prevention Head Leslie Kelt is reiterating that the best line of personal defense for individuals is also a simple one: People should wash their hands often and for at least 20 seconds each time, or roughly the length of time it takes to sing “Happy Birthday” twice.

If someone develops symptoms of what they suspect could be coronavirus, which are similar to those for flu, they should contact their personal healthcare provider, who will be able to give them further instructions.