First coronavirus case confirmed
The town of Rochester man is recovering at home after seeking treatment at HealthAlliance Hospital in Kingston, officials say
A town of Rochester man has tested positive for the novel coronavirus and is recovering at home, where he is quarantined, Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan said Sunday afternoon.
Ryan said the county was notified Sunday morning by the state Health Department that a county resident had tested positive for COVID-19. “This individual recently traveled internationally to France and notified our Health Department that he had symptoms consistent with COVID-19,” Ryan said.
Ryan said the Rochester man had driven himself to Health-Alliance’s Hospital’s Broadway Campus in Kingston to seek treat-
ment. He said the man is recovering at home and his condition is improving.
He described the man as middle-aged.
Michael Doyle, executive director and chief medical officer of HealthAlliance, said the hospital had advance notice of the man’s arrival.
“We were expecting he was coming,” Doyle said. “He was met in the parking lot by one of our staff, using our guidelines as directed. The staff member had the appropriate protective personal equipment on.”
Doyle said the man was brought in through a special entrance the hospital has set aside for isolation patients and was placed in an “airborne isolation” room, where he was assessed by hospital staff wearing protective equipment.
Doyle said people can expect such procedures by the hospital to continue as the situation unfolds.
“We keep a space for patients to distance themselves within the hospital,” he said.
Ryan said the man lives alone and officials are confident he did not have any exposure to schools or young people.
Ryan said there is one other family member medical authorities are proactively quarantining, but that family member has not displayed any symptoms.
Ryan noted that seven other people in Ulster County are currently under quarantine, but none have shown symptoms and officials do not believe they have the coronavirus.
A press release from Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office on Sunday identified the Ulster County case as one of 16 newly confirmed cases in the state, bringing the number of statewide cases to 105.
“We have been preparing for this contingency for the last several weeks, and I am confident in our ability to respond quickly and comprehensively to ensure public health and safety,” Ryan said in a press release Sunday. “As a first step, we are activating the Ulster County Emergency Operation Center as well as deploying Health Department staff to focus solely on community mitigation efforts.
“Public health officials have already begun interviewing this individual to assess who he may have come into contact with and will notify those individuals,” the executive added. “We will continue to update the public to ensure full transparency as the situation develops.
“I would like to reiterate that any resident experiencing a fever, with cough or shortness of breath, should contact the Ulster County Health Department at (845) 340-3150, or, if symptoms are severe, call 911. For general questions about coronavirus, please call the New York State Department of Health at 1-888-364-3065.”
Ryan said county officials are working with the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the New York State Department of Health to monitor any travelers who return to Ulster County from foreign countries.
He said local officials are notified when countries are placed on the Level 2 or Level 3 lists, which indicate the highest levels of the virus’ spread.
“As those individuals come in, we then make outreach to them through our public health nurses,” he said.
While health officials worldwide have asked people to avoid mass gatherings, Ryan has not ordered the cancellation of any local events like the annual Kingston St. Patrick’s Parade or Shamrock Run scheduled for Sunday, March 15.
“At this point, we continue to feel there’s a very low risk to the general public,” he said. “What we will do as the situation develops we’ll make a data-driven decision on any particular event or organization in coordination with the leadership of that entity.”
Ryan said a week or two out is still too soon to make a decision on such an event.
“We definitely don’t want to overact or rush to judgment,” he said. “It’s that fine balance between transparency and not to overact, and I think so far we’re doing well.”
So far, Ryan said, he has not heard of any instances of price-gouging on items like hand sanitizers, soaps or masks in local stores.
“We’re a community that looks out for each other and takes care of each other and I’ve seen everybody really rise to the occasion so far,” he said.
Dr. Carol Smith, the commissioner of Ulster County’s Department of Health and Mental Health, said county officials will give the man with the confirmed case advice on disinfecting his home and vehicle.
With the virus being “novel, or new,” Smith said, health officials are still working to determine how long it can live on surfaces that people touch, like door handles or counters.
“I wish we had definitive answers to all the questions surrounding this virus,” she said. “The CDC, the World Health Organization, they’re in the process of trying to find these answers. Until we see how it’s impacting the community, and individuals in the community, those answers will have to be looked at over time.”
Ryan said officials have been preparing for the arrival of the virus for weeks. “I think residents can feel assured that we’re on this is and we’re as ready can be,” he said.
Ryan said state officials are rapidly expanding testing as well. “It’s increasing day to day, even hour to hour,” he said. “That’s a reassuring dynamic.”