Louisiana reports its 3rd-highest daily case count of the pandemic

Louisiana is grappling with a sharp rise in new COVID-19 cases amid the spread of the Delta variant in the United States, and state's governor is decrying the spike as "avoidable."

Data from Johns Hopkins shows an alarming spike in Louisiana's seven-day rolling average of new COVID-19 cases, as flagged by physician and scientist Eric Topol, who notes the state "now leads the country (per capita)" in its number of cases per 100,000 residents.

On Wednesday, the Louisiana Department of Health reported 5,388 new COVID-19 cases, which was the third-highest daily case count since the beginning of the pandemic, according to 4WWL. Thirteen new deaths were reported.

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"Numbers like this are avoidable, and we should be doing better," Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said.

A spokesperson for the governor's office also said, "This is the fourth surge of COVID-19 in Louisiana. To see such a high increase right now, when vaccines are readily available all across Louisiana, is incredibly disheartening."