Vermilion Parish, which had so far escaped any positive COVID-19 tests, now has two.
Police Jury President Dane Hebert confirmed a second positive case at a press conference this afternoon.
Abbeville General opened a testing site at the Erath Community Care Clinic, and screened 26 people and tested 17 of those for the virus today, a spokeswoman said.
That clinic will continue to be open every day from 10 a.m. until noon, until further notice. Before you go to the site, you must call the COVID-19 Screening Line before arriving at test site to see if you meet criteria for testing 337-892-6999. This Screening Line will open up for calls on Thursday, March 26th from 8am-12noon.
Everyone who goes to the testing site is not tested; officials only have so many tests at this point and are trying to use them for people who are at risk or are showing symptoms. For more information,click here.
Dr. Tina Stefanski, regional medical director for the Office of Public Health in Acadiana, said the positive cases are expected.
"Keep in mind, these positives are a reflection of people's exposure a couple weeks ago. We know we will see an increase in positives," she said.
But, if people will follow the rules and limit social contact and stay at home, the numbers will be lower, she said.
"If they don't, we are going to put a strain on our health care system, and that's going to affect all of us," she said.
Stefanski asked people to think about how they feel when a Category 5 hurricane is headed toward their parish.
"We always wish we had some way to take control and change the course of that hurricane. Well, we have that now," she said. "These social distancing guidelines work. We know they have been effective in past pendemics, and they've shown to be effective now in other countries that were hard it."
But they only work if people follow them, she said.
"If you don't follow those guidelines, we will continue to see increases, and that's something nobody wants to see," she said.
Stefanski said some people are having to wait as long as a week to get results. If you have been tested you will be notified of the result, whether it's positive or negative, she said.
As labs increase capacity, the turn-around should improve, she said.
Watch the presser here:
