More testing centers opening during fifth surge

Lake Charles, LA (KPLC) - Southwest Louisiana is starting the new year with record-high COVID cases.

The state reported over 30,000 new cases after the holiday weekend.

“We’re seeing large numbers of cases. Really, larger than any of the previous surges that we’ve had,” Region 5 Medical Director Lacey Cavanaugh said.

After several days of breaking records, positivity rates continue to skyrocket.

“Here in Calcasieu Parish, we had over 1,000 cases reported during that period,” Cavanaugh said. “So, if you follow the numbers at all, you would recognize that that is a substantial increase in comparison to what we were seeing before Omicron.”

A surge of COVID-19 cases comes with an increased demand for testing locations.

“Now we have testing at all of our - pretty much all of our health units. We have the Memorial site, and we also are going to have the site up at Jennings tomorrow. So, we’re excited to be able to provide for that need,” Cavanaugh said.

With crowded testing centers just before the holidays, Cavanaugh said the need for more testing centers comes as no surprise.

“You know, the more people that have COVID in the community, the more contacts of people to COVID positives and the more people who want testing to see what their status is,” Cavanaugh said.

The entire country is experiencing a testing demand, and rapid testing kits are harder to come by. So, people getting tested should know it may take days to get results.

“All of our sites are PCR sites, which means it’s probably going to take two to three days to get results from all of them,” Cavanaugh said. “So, none of them are rapid testing.”

The test locations will remain as long as there is a need.

Testing sites can be found HERE.

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