Louisiana virus cases surge, with call to cancel athletics

Posted: Jul 8, 2020 / 09:17 AM CDT / Updated: Jul 8, 2020 / 09:17 AM CDT

Swarnamala Ratnayaka prepares RNA for testing for the new coronavirus at the molecular pathology lab at Tulane University School of Medicine in New Orleans, Thursday, April 2, 2020. The test is identical to the PCR test being used by the Centers for Disease Control to ease the testing crisis and stop the spread of COVID-19, which has hit the New Orleans area especially hard. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — The chairman of the state Senate’s education committee wants Louisiana’s K-12 public schools to cancel student athletics for the fall semester because of the risks of the coronavirus outbreak.

Baton Rouge Sen. Cleo Fields’s request comes amid the resurgence of the state’s coronavirus outbreak.

Nearly 2,000 new virus cases were confirmed Tuesday, and hospitalizations from the COVID-19 disease topped 1,000.

Fields sent letters to the heads of the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education and the Louisiana School Boards Association, calling for the suspension of athletic events as a safety precaution.

The health department says more than 3,200 Louisiana residents have died from COVID-19. That number grew by 23 Tuesday.