By Cyndi Sellers

The Cameron Parish OEP announced Wednesday, Apr. 22, that six cases of COVID-19 have been reported in the parish, up from two last Wednesday. A tract map provided by the Louisiana Department of Health shows that the cases in the parish are all located east of the Calcasieu River. Cameron Parish still has one of the lowest case numbers in the state. To date, Cameron Parish had conducted 23 tests, of which 22 were negative and one was pending. The positive tests were performed at sites outside the parish.

However, neighboring Calcasieu Parish had 341 cases as of Tuesday, April 21, with 23 deaths. Allen Parish had 80 cases and nine deaths, Jeff Davis Parish has 57 cases and five deaths, Beauregard Parish had 36 cases and two deaths, Vermilion had 33 cases and one death. Lafayette Parish had 435 cases and 17 deaths.

With one week to go in the Governor’s stay-at-home order, OEP director Danny Lavergne encourages Parish residents to stay the course and keep following guidelines about isolating, maintaining social distancing when in public, and washing hands thoroughly and often. Cloth masks are encouraged to reduce the spread of respiratory droplets that may contain corona virus, which may be present even in apparently healthy individuals.

The number of cases and deaths statewide continued to rise, although the number of hospitalizations and patients on ventilators has declined. As of Wednesday, 25,258 cases had been reported, with 1473 deaths. There were 1,747 COVID-19 patients in hospitals, with 287 of those on ventilators.