UPDATED 10 A.M. SUNDAY: First St. Mary COVID-19 case on state website; local officials haven't been notified

For the first time, a positive test for COVID-19 in St. Mary Parish has been reported by the state.
But local officials haven’t yet been given details by state public health authorities.
The St. Mary case showed up in the 5:30 p.m. Saturday update on the Louisiana Office of Public Health website.
At 9:30 a.m. Sunday, 837 positive tests were recorded in 36 parishes after more than 3,500 tests.
Twelve cases have been reported in Terrebonne, and 12 in Lafourche. One cases has been reported in Assumption. No cases have been reported in St. Martin.
The Louisiana death toll remained at 20.
“I haven’t been notified,” said Dr. Eric Melancon, the St. Mary coroner. “And they’re supposed to.”
Melancon said he checked with Ochsner St. Mary in Morgan City and Franklin Foundation Hospital since learning of the OPH update, and neither reported a positive test for COVID-19.
“Could it have been at a physician’s office outside? I don’t know,” Melancon said.
To avoid overwhelming public health resources, people who believe they have been exposed to COVID-19 or believe they have symptoms have been advised to contact their personal physicians to learn how to proceed.
Other developments:
—Operations of the St. Mary Parish Courthouse will be closed to direct public access beginning Monday.
Offices affected included the 16th Judicial District Attorney’s Office, the St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office, parish government, the Clerk of Court’s Office, the Assessor’s Office and the Veteran’s Office.
Offices will continue to be staffed, and agencies can be contacted by phone, email or social sites.
The Registrar of Voters Office is closed.
—Wednesday’s regular Parish Council meeting has been canceled.
—The Louisiana Supreme Court has extended the postponement of new civil and criminal trials and other court proceedings until April 13. Cases that had been underway at the time of the court’s original March 16 order are to be continued until dates set by local rules.
The order does not post-pone cases involving protective orders, child custody and welfare, or mental health interdiction.
The earlier order had postponed court cases through March.
—The Louisiana Governor’s Office offered reassurance that it has no plans to order people to shelter in place. Local authorities have the power to issue such orders without approval from the governor, the order said.
A shelter in place is not a total lock down, the office said. People are still allowed to go to work, buy groceries or medication, or perform other needed tasks.
The National Guard has been mobilized to set up housing for people who are awaiting test results and have no place to stay, to help at drive-up testing sites and to evaluate structures that could serve as temporary hospitals, the Governor’s Office said.
The Governor’s Office issued a reminder of corona-virus measures now in place:
—Limiting gatherings to no more than 50 people
—Closing all K-12 public schools
—Closing casinos, bars movie theaters, gyms and fitness centers
—Closing restaurants to patrons eating on site. Take-out, drive-through and delivery orders are allowed
—Reducing the use of public buildings by closing in some areas, encouraging the use of remote working by government employees
—Moving the May 9 and April 4 elections