In hard-hit Louisiana, statewide deaths jumped 38.3% over the weekend. Louisiana now has a total of 512 fatalities, according to the state’s Department of Health.
The number of diagnosed COVID-19 cases made a 44.3% leap over the weekend, now at a total of 10,297 in the state.
Of those hospitalized in Louisiana, 31.1% of the patients are on ventilators, according to the Health Department.
Among the coronavirus-related deaths was a baby girl born prematurely because her mother was on a ventilator and needed oxygen, Dr. William “Beau” Clark of the East Baton Rouge Parish Coroner’s Office told ABC News.
It is not clear if the baby was infected with the coronavirus, Dr. Clark said.
Only two of Louisiana’s 64 parishes have zero confirmed cases.
“It is absolutely critical that you avoid close contact with others,” New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell tweeted Monday.
“It is going to take all of us doing our part and being good neighbors to help flatten the curve and slow the spread,” Gov. John Bel Edwards tweeted .
