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New Orleans Is Outpacing Other COVID-19 Hotspots In Rate Of Cases Per Capita

Downtown New Orleans as seen from Crescent Park. March 19, 2020.
Ashley Dean
/
WWNO
Downtown New Orleans as seen from Crescent Park. March 19, 2020.

New Orleans is emerging as the next major hotspot for COVID-19.

A breakdown of known coronavirus cases at the county level appears to show Orleans Parish — home to New Orleans — far outpacing other jurisdictions in COVID-19 rate per capita in the U.S.  

Numbers last updated at 10 a.m. CST March 19, 2020.
Credit Patrick Madden / WWNO
/
WWNO
Numbers last updated at 10 a.m. CST March 19, 2020.

The New Orleans Public Radio analysis looked at the latest available statistics for some of the counties with the most coronavirus cases. While most of the national attention has focused on Washington’s King County and New York City, these grim figures show why Louisiana’s Governor John Bel Edwards is warning residents to expect a surge in new cases.

“I want people to be prepared for this,” said Edwards at a press conference Wednesday. “It is going to get much worse before it gets better.”

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Patrick was the Regional News Director for the news collaboration between WRKF Baton Rouge and WWNO New Orleans, from 2019 through 2023.