A Manhattan woman in her late thirties who recently traveled to Iran has become the first known person in New York state to be infected with the coronavirus.
The test was confirmed by New York's Wadsworth Lab in Albany and announced by Governor Andrew Cuomo on Sunday evening. The woman was described as having contracted the virus while in Iran. She has respiratory symptoms but is not in serious condition, and is currently isolated in her home, according to a press release.
A source who spoke to state officials said that the woman lives in Manhattan. Mayor Bill de Blasio later issued a statement about the positive test although he did not confirm the location. As of early Sunday, New York City's Health Department reported that there were two pending cases. The tests were sent to the Wadsworth Lab.
"There is no cause for surprise—this was expected. As I said from the beginning, it was a matter of when, not if there would be a positive case of novel coronavirus in New York," Cuomo said.
In a press release with Mayor Bill de Blasio, Dr. Oxiris Barbot, commissioner of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, said, “While we hoped this moment wouldn’t come, it was something we prepared for. Our disease detectives have already identified close contacts of the patient, who may have been exposed, and will take appropriate measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Despite this development, New Yorkers remain at low risk for contracting COVID-19. As we confront this emerging outbreak, we need to separate facts from fear, and guard against stigma and panic."
City Council Member Mark Levine, who chairs the Council's Committee on Health, said in a statement, "This news is disturbing—but expected. And we should assume there will be additional cases. But the risk to New Yorkers remains low."
"The public should have confidence in the fact that we have a world class health system," he continued. "We need to follow the advice of the experts, and keep panic and prejudice at bay. That’s how we’ll get through this."
New York City officials announced on Saturday that the city had received new testing kits from the CDC and that local testing could begin within a week.
Washington health officials on Sunday evening also reported a death in the state on its website, marking the second person in the U.S. to die from the disease. According to the New York Times, health officials in King County, Washington said the man, who was in his 70s with underlying health conditions, died Saturday. He was at Evergreen Health hospital in Kirkland, the same facility where the first coronavirus victim died as well. That individual was described as a man in his 50s, who also had underlying health conditions.
Symptoms for the coronavirus, officially known as COVID-19, include fever, cough and shortness of breath. Health officials are advising those who have symptoms and have recently traveled to an area with significant outbreaks or who have been in contact with a person known to have the virus to call a healthcare professional immediately.
