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LAPLACE — As of Tuesday at noon, 12 St. John the Baptist Parish residents had died as a result of COVID-19. The Louisiana Department of Health reported 104 confirmed cases in St. John Parish, and Parish President Jaclyn Hotard said the social distancing guidelines set by officials have become more important than ever before.

“We know many of these families,” Hotard said Monday during a Facebook Live. “These are not strangers to our community. In these instances, these are pillars of our community. If we can’t social distance for the lives that have been lost, people we know…then shame on us. We need to continue to lift our parish up in prayer, our state up in prayer and our entire country up in prayer so that we get past the coronavirus.”

During a press conference Monday, Governor John Bel Edwards announced plans to extend school closures and restrictions on large gatherings until April 30. This decision, which will go into effect at the end of the week, is in line with President Donald Trump’s recent recommendation that non-essential businesses and all public gatherings remain shut down through the end of April.

“This is obviously very helpful for states like ours because it sends the message that we are nowhere near (over) the hump,” Edwards said.

According to the Louisiana Department of Health, there were 5,237 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 239 deaths across Louisiana. The virus has been identified in 60 of Louisiana’s 64 parishes. There are currently 1,355 patients seeking treatment in hospitals, and 438 of those patients are on ventilators.

Edwards added that current projections by health experts show the New Orleans Region could run out of ventilators by April 5 and beds by April 12. Officials are converting the New Orleans Convention Center into a coronavirus recovery center.

Two Urgent Care locations in St. John Parish offer COVID-19 testing, according to Hotard. However, tests are limited to only those who are showing symptoms of the virus.

She said most people who receive positive results will recover at home.

“Continue to stay home as much as you can,” Hotard said. “Continue to limit the amount of contact you have with other people. If you can send one person to the grocery store, please do that.”