Caddo Parish surpasses 10,000 positive COVID-19 cases

What started with a single case at a downtown Shreveport SWEPCO office in March reached a dubious distinction on Sunday.

Caddo Parish has surpassed 10,000 positive COVID-19 cases, according to the Louisiana Department of Health. The parish has 10,025 cases.

"It's a lot of community spread,'' LSU Health Shreveport Vice Chancellor for Research Dr. Chris Kevil, who helped create the Emerging Viral Threat lab, said. "Sadly to say, I think there are still people in the community that may not think the virus is as big of a deal as it is.''

Kevil said he has seen people in town wearing their masks, but he has also seen other disdain masks. The same has held true for people with social distancing.

More:How LSU Health Shreveport tackles COVID-19 pandemic

"People adhering to social distancing now is really important,'' Kevil said. "The CDC (Centers for Disease Control) acknowledges this that virus is spread by aerosol. What that means is the 6-foot distance alone may not be sufficient, in and of itself, to prevent being exposed to the virus. Obviously, if it's just droplets, that's a safe distance. With aerosols, you have to get much further away. The aerosol is what contributes to infecting family members at home, because it will circulate through the house.''

Caddo Parish is one of four in Louisiana with more than 10,000 cases. Jefferson Parish has 18,624 cases. East Baton Rouge Parish has 16,021 cases and Orleans Parish has 13,427.

Caddo Parish went over 10,000 cases with 97 new cases between Saturday and Sunday. Those new cases came on 1,730 tests for a positive test percentage of 5.6%.

Medical experts have expressed a desire for the positive test percentage to be 5% or less.

Despite the dubious milestone, the positivity rate in Caddo Parish is in line with what medical experts desire.

"We can't let our guard down now, Shreveport,'' Shreveport Mayor Adrian Perkins wrote in a social media post. We have to do our part to slow the spread and save lives. Please avoid unnecessary risks, wear a mask, practice social distancing, and wash your hands regularly.''

Caddo Parish remained at 392 COVID-19 deaths, according to LDH.

Bossier Parish, meanwhile, broke a stretch of four consecutive days with a positive test percentage over 10%.

The parish had 59 new cases over the two-day period to bring Bossier's total to 4,188. The new cases came on 963 tests for a 6.1% positive test percentage.

There have been 117 COVID-19 deaths in the parish.

DeSoto Parish had eight new cases over the weekend to give it 1,017 total. There have been 35 deaths in the parish because of the virus.

Webster Parish had eight new cases. The parish has 1,465 total cases with 40 deaths due to COVID-19.

Sabine Parish is nearing 1,000 cases. The parish had 10 new cases to give it 986 total. There have been 15 COVID-19 deaths in the parish.

Natchitoches Parish had 19 new cases to give it 1,467 cases. There have been 28 deaths due to COVID-19 in the parish.

There were nine new cases in Red River Parish to give the parish 424 cases. There have been 24 COVID-19 deaths in the parish.

Bienville Parish had four new cases to give it 593 total. The parish has 33 COVID-19 deaths.

Claiborne Parish had the fewest new cases in northwest Louisiana with two. The parish has 602 cases with 25 COVID-19 deaths.

Lincoln Parish had 16 new cases. The parish has 1,649 total cases with 48 COVID-19 deaths.

More:Bossier Parish remains above 10 percent COVID-19 positivity rate for 4th straight day