NEW ORLEANS — The federal government is sending coronavirus tests to New Orleans, the city's Health Department Director Dr. Jennifer Avegno said during a press conference Friday.
Dr. Avegno said the percentage of COVID-19 tests that are coming back positive has doubled since June.
"After repeatedly elevating the issue nationally, the government has agreed to send us surge testing resources here in New Orleans," the doctor said during a Friday press conference.
The testing supplies, like those sent from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to Baton Rouge, is part of a new program, the doctor said.
In Baton Rouge, the HHS and its local partners offered 5,000 tests per-day at no charge to the patient. Dr. Avegno said the help will allow the City of New Orleans to significantly increase testing.
Supported by the Louisiana National Guard, sure testing is scheduled to begin at the UNO Lakefront Arena as a drive-thru testing site, open 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. beginning Tuesday. The testing site may be rotated to other universities in New Orleans.
More information will be available on ready.nola.gov/testing.
In the meantime, officials continue to urge Americans to continue the best practices to suppress the spread of this virus:
- Stay home as much as possible.
- Wear a mask at all times in public.
- Limit interactions with others and maintain distance when around other people.
- Wash hands often and regularly disinfect surfaces.
- If you feel sick, stay home
- If you’ve been around someone who is sick, stay home.
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