NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards marked a sharp increase in the daily number of new COVID-19 cases in the state Friday with a renewed call for residents to wear masks and follow social distancing guidelines to avoid dangerous spikes in cases plaguing other states.

“We can turn this around,” Edwards said. “We've just go to start now.”

Edwards said the state recorded 2,812 confirmed new cases Friday. In addition, he said, there were 680 cases labeled “probable.” He and Dr. Joseph Kanter, acting assistant state health secretary, explained that the probable tag is being used for cases detected through the increased use of “antigen” tests.

Antigen tests result in quick on-site results and are less expensive and easier to administer than the more widely test known as a molecular or PCR test, Kanter said. But they also are deemed less accurate.

Edwards' warnings at a live-streamed news conference in Baton Rouge were echoed in New Orleans, the epicenter of an early spring outbreak. The city's health director, Dr. Jennifer Avegno, said the percentage of positive test results in the city remains a relatively low 2.2%. But that's up from last week's rate of around 1.2%, Avegno said.

The average number of new cases per day reported in the city has reached 60, Avegno said. “We like to keep it at 50 or below."

The increases come as the state has maintained a masking requirement while gradually easing various public gathering restrictions, limits on restaurant capacity and, in areas with higher infection rates, the closure of bars. New Orleans, which has had tougher restrictions than the state, also has recently eased rules, this week allowing indoor service at bars for the first time in months.

Officials did not say they were considering re-imposing the politically unpopular tougher restrictions — yet.

“The people of Louisiana will determine whether we, in fact, have to do that,” Edwards said, strongly urging people to immediately step up the use of masks and to stay safely distant from people outside their immediate household.

Baton Rouge Mayor Sharon Weston Broome expressed concern about the local economy and hospital capacity, noting the positivity rate in East Baton Rouge Parish has hit 5%.

And state health department charts show the Acadiana region is close to capacity for hospital intensive care beds.

“You can get in a tough situation with hospital capacity very quickly ... We're not at capacity yet,” Kanter said at Friday's news conference when asked about overall hospital capacity in the state. “But we still need to be as vigilant as ever with mitigation and prevention.”

The latest state health department figures show hospitalizations have edged back up around Louisiana — hitting 684 after dipping to 676 a day earlier. Hospitalizations, a key figure used in determining what restrictions on gatherings are needed, remain well below the peaks they hit earlier this year — close to 2,000 during a spring outbreak and around 1,600 in late summer. But they have trended gradually upward since early fall.

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Follow AP coverage of the virus outbreak at https://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak.