LAFAYETTE, La. - On Thursday, Lafayette Consolidated Government held a press briefing on the parish's ongoing COVID-19 health emergency.
LCG government officials and Region 4 Office of Public Health Medical Director Dr. Tina Stefanski provided updates.
The Lafayette Parish area has seen a large daily increase in the number of reported cases over the last several weeks.
"The spike is driven substantially by those who are 18 to 29 years of age," said said Mayor-President Josh Guillory. "This ongoing surge in cases appears to be related to widespread social interactions in bars, restaurants and private gatherings after the state moved to Phase 2 reopening. It's the primary reason sited for the recent steps taken by the governor."
The total number of cases in the state is now at 86,411. A total of 3,375 people have died of the disease in Louisiana as of Thursday.
"We have twice as many people in our local hospitals as there were a month ago," said Guillory.
Dr. Stefanski said there is a dramatic increase in Region 4. A little over a fourth of people tested test positive for the coronavirus.
On Friday, testing at Cajun Field will move to the Carencro Community Center from 8:00 am to 2:00 pm, and will be back at Cajun Field from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm on Saturday.
Governor John Bel Edwards held a press conference on Thursday at 2:30 pm. Click here to read more about that press conference.
On Saturday, the governor issued a mandatory mask requirement for Louisiana and ordered bars in the state closed to on-premises consumption as the state experiences increasing spread of COVID-19.
Read more about the Mandatory mask requirement: Gov. Edwards announces mask mandate for residents, changes for bars
Watch the press conference below:
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