New York – A 38-year-old healthcare worker who had traveled to Iran and is the first coronavirus case in New York City is recovering at her home in Manhattan, said NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo Monday.
The woman was traveling with her spouse who is presumed to have contracted the highly contagious virus that has sickened thousands around the world. He was undergoing testing.
The woman was believed to be contagious-free on the plane into New York and in the car service from the airport to her home where she is self-quarantining, added Cuomo.
“The positive test was confirmed by New York’s Wadsworth Lab in Albany, underscoring the importance of the ability for our state to ensure efficient and rapid turnaround, and is exactly why I advocated for the approval from Vice President Pence that New York was granted just yesterday,” Cuomo said in the statement. “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.”
The statement didn’t say when the woman returned to the city after her travels, though a statement from Mayor Bill de Blasio said the travel was recent.
“If you have the symptoms, go get health care,” said de Blasio on Monday. “This is not something you get through casual contact.”
Local health authorities “have been in a state of high alert for weeks, and are fully prepared to respond.”
People believed to have been in close contact with the woman have already been identified, city Health Commissioner Dr. Oxiris Barbot said.
Health authorities had previously tested more than 30 New York patients who have reported symptoms consistent with the virus, but until now each suspected case had proven to be a false alarm.
More than 80,000 cases of COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus, have occurred worldwide since the virus emerged in China. About 3,000 people have died. The illness is characterized by fever and coughing and in serious cases shortness of breath or pneumonia.
Rhode Island also confirmed its first case of the illness on Sunday, the same day that researchers said the virus may have been circulating in Washington state for weeks undetected.
Cuomo and other state and city officials had said the emergence of a New York case was considered inevitable, given the city’s role as a hub of international travel.
While there is no evidence yet that the virus has been spreading in New York among people who haven’t traveled, the addition of the city to the list of places with confirmed cases of the virus seemed likely to raise anxiety and potentially pose a threat to tourism.
New Yorkers and the city’s millions of visitors spend their days in close proximity to each other. City officials have, for weeks, been urging people to frequently wash their hands and avoid touching their faces to cut down on the risk of catching an illness. They have also urged calm, saying repeatedly that the risk to most New Yorkers is low.
“As we confront this emerging outbreak, we need to separate facts from fear, and guard against stigma and panic,” Barbot said.
With the Associated Press
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