Student tests negative for coronavirus

NEW HAVEN — The state has begun to see “stigmatization of people from China” even as a student from China who attended a Yale University event last week has tested negative for the coronavirus.

Dr. Matthew Cartter, state epidemiologist with the state health department, said calls have been coming in from people worried about whether Chinese people in Connecticut could spread the disease. He said this happened during the 2003 epidemic of severe acute respiratory syndrome, which also began in China.

“We’re seeing the same concerns and stig

matization of people from China,” he said. “We need to keep that from progressing.” He said callers have asked about the numbers of Chinese at the casinos. Buses bring residents of New York’s Chinatown to Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun.

Also, private schools are calling asking whether students returning from China should be kept out of school for 14 days, Cartter said. He said the CDC states that that is only necessary if someone is showing symptoms.

He said that “people are afraid of them because they think they are carrying diseases” but that schools and others should “make sure we take care of all the visitors to our country . ... We need to take a deep breath.”

In New Haven, Yale spokeswoman Karen Peart said in an email Friday, “We can now report that the student’s test result for 2019-nCoV has come back negative.”

“We have shared this happy outcome with the student, their teammates and their advisers,” she said.

While no patients have tested positive for the coronavirus in Connecticut, the federal government on Friday declared a public health emergency and announced significant entry restrictions to the United States.

Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, who is coordinating the federal response, announced that President Donald Trump had signed an order to bar entry temporarily of foreign nationals, other than immediate family of U.S. citizens and permanent residents, who

have traveled in China within the last 14 days. The restrictions take effect at 5 p.m. Sunday.

“It is likely that we will continue to see more cases in the United States in the coming days and weeks, including some limited person-to-person transmissions,” Azar said. “The American public can be assured the full weight of the U.S. government is working to safeguard the health and safety of the American people.”

Americans returning from China will be allowed into the country, but all flights from China will be directed to seven major airports where passengers can be screened for illness. They will be required to undertake 14 days of selfscreening to ensure they don’t pose a health risk. Those returning from Hubei province, the center of the outbreak, will be subject to up to 14 days of mandatory quarantine.

In an email Friday afternoon, a spokesman for the Chinese consulate in New York said, “The Chinese government so far has taken strong measures ... to deal with the disease, and will continue to resolutely make sure measures are effectively implemented. We have built an all-round and multi-layered prevention and control system. Massive and effective efforts at all levels of Chinese government and society have been made to prevent and control the spread of the epidemic.

“National medical staff and resources have been mobilized and deployed to Wuhan to offer needed support,” the statement continued. “We also take great efforts to prevent the epidemic from flowing out of the country.”

In New Haven, Mayor Justin Elicker issued a statement saying, “We have just received information from the State Department of Public Health that the student participating in the Yale Model United Nations program has tested negative for coronavirus after lab testing with the Center[s] for Disease Control and Prevention.”

He added, “As a reminder, this is the flu season, and we all need to take preventative measures to reduce the spread of germs and respiratory virus. Our Health Department will continue to stay in communication with the State

Department of Public Health regarding the coronavirus.”

Gov. Ned Lamont said in an email he had participated in a conference call with all governors to coordinate a national response with the White House.

“We want to make sure we are providing all of the most recent information to Connecticut residents so they are aware of ongoing developments as this global health concern continues,” Lamont said in a statement. “We ask that people not panic, but take possible symptoms seriously. The CDC is advising that many of the symptoms reflect those that we usually see when someone has the flu. If you experience any of these symptoms, please get treated sooner rather than later.”

Renée Coleman Mitchell, commissioner of the state Department of Public Health, said in a statement that the Model U.N. student testing negative for coronavirus “is good news for Connecticut.” A student at Wesleyan University also tested negative this week.

“We continue to be vigilant and coordinate a proactive response with local health and medical providers across the state,” she said. “We are also in the height of flu season and we recommend residents take extra ... precautions to avoid spreading the flu.”

Cartter also said he’s been asked whether someone who is infected can spread the coronavirus before they develop symptoms. He said that “for many respiratory illnesses like flu , for example, you’re not able to transmit the infection to somebody else unless you’re sick.” That is in contrast to measles, which is more easily transmitted through the air, versus flu, which spread through larger droplets, such as in a cough or sneeze.

Coronavirus is more akin to flu, he said, though he didn’t rule out that someone without symptoms could spread the disease.

While coronavirus has not been detected in Connecticut, “we’ve been having a very tough flu season,” said Dr. Richard Martinello, medical director for infection prevention for Yale New Haven Health. “We’re currently experiencing a year that is very challenging for us.”