BATON ROUGE - The Louisiana Department of Health confirmed that the Louisiana Classic Wrestling Tournament held at the Lamar Dixon Expo Center in Gonzales is the reason for a recent COVID-19 outbreak in the area.

The tournament took place Jan. 15-16 with over 20 reports of athletes, staff, and attendees testing positive for the coronavirus, according to LDH.

LDH recommends that anyone who attended the tournament should "consider themselves exposed to COVID-19 and should immediately contact their healthcare provider to get tested even if they are not experiencing symptoms."

On Tuesday, the Louisiana High School Athletics Association (LHSAA) announced an immediately effective memorandum on the 2020-2021 LHSAA wrestling regular season.

The memorandum was issued as a precautionary measure to ensure the 2020-2021 state wrestling championships will not be affected due to potential COVID exposure.

Students who are allowed or choose to wrestle independently from their high school during this time will forgeit their opportunity to participate in the LHSAA state tournament.