COVID Community Cluster Of Five New Rochelle New York

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Many more cases from family/cluster from Cuomo Presser

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March 4, 2020 at 4:41 pm

Filed Under:coronavirus, Local TV, Metropolitan Transportation Authority, MTA, New Rochelle, New York, Outbreak, Westchester County

 

NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) – The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in New York has grown to 11, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Wednesday.

Cuomo announced a New Rochelle family and their neighbors have tested positive for the virus. Cuomo announced the wife, son and daughter of an infected New Rochelle man tested positive.

The wife of the New Rochelle patient – who works at the same law firm as her husband – though testing positive, was asymptomatic, Mayor Bill de Blasio said.

 

Andrew Cuomo

 

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UPDATE: There are four additional confirmed cases of #COVID19 in NYS, bringing the total to six.

The new #coronavirus cases are tied to the 50-year-old patient from New Rochelle announced yesterday: his wife, two of his children, and his neighbor who drove him to the hospital.

 

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The son, 20, is a student at Yeshiva University, prompting the closure of Wilf Campus in Washington Heights. Yeshiva University will remain closed through Friday, Cuomo said. He had symptoms and is apparently getting better, de Blasio said.

De Blasio said disease detectives had identified two people – a roommate and a close friend – that warrant testing for coronavirus at Yeshiva University. Results of those tests are pending at Bellevue Hospital.

The daughter, 14, attended the SAR High School in the Bronx, which is also closed. It will remain closed until March 10, Cuomo said. She was asymptomatic, de Blasio said.

The neighbor who drove the New Rochelle man to the hospital is also positive, along with a friend, his wife and three children.

Watch: Gov. Andrew Cuomo Announces Additional Cases Of Coronavirus In NY

 

Officials said the family of the New Rochelle man were in isolation in their home while he is hospitalized at New York Presbyterian-Columbia in the ICU.

The infected man, believed to have gotten coronavirus through community spread, was in severe condition on Wednesday morning and is the first person in the New York area to be hospitalized due to the disease.

“He has an underlying respiratory illness. So when we talk about the vulnerable population here – senior citizens, immune compromised, or an existing underlying illness, especially an underlying respiratory illness because this is a respiratory disease – this gentleman fits in that category,” Cuomo said.

Watch: Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Westchester Officials Discuss Additional Coronavirus Cases In NY

 

Cuomo said that 80% of people who get the virus will “self resolve,” and the remaining 20% may need medical intervention. The lethality rate of coronavirus, he said, was around 1.4%, roughly double the flu rate.

“We have an epidemic caused by coronavirus. But we have a pandemic that is caused by fear,” Cuomo said. “I think in this case people are suspect about what they’re hearing because government now is so polarized in so many ways, the environment is so political, that you hear different messages about this situation. And then it gets politicized.”

CORONAVIRUS: CDC Latest | NYC Guidance For Students | NY Health Dept. | NY Hotline: 1-(888)-364-3065 | NJ Health Dept. | NJ Hotline: 1-(800)-222-1222

Cuomo said he expects the number of confirmed cases will continue to grow.

“If you understand the facts, there is no reason for undue anxiety,” Cuomo said. “There are going to be dozens and dozens and dozens of people. And the more people you test, the more people you’re going to find.”

Watch: Mayor Bill de Blasio, NYC Officials Update On Coronavirus

 

Cuomo also said that CUNY and SUNY students who were participating in study abroad programs in China, Italy, Japan, Iran and South Korea were being recalled. They’ll return on a chartered plane and be quarantined in dormitories for 14 days, Cuomo said.

The New Rochelle man works as an attorney at Lewis and Garbuz, P.C. in Manhattan. He’s a member of Young Israel of New Rochelle, which will be closed through March 8. Five hundred to 700 people who attended services there on Feb. 22 and 23 have been told to self-quarantine through Sunday. Westchester County Executive George Latimer announced a hotline for those who had attended the Young Israel events with that patient: 1-866-588-0195.

“This is a very emotionally trying time for us all. When we first heard of the coronavirus it seemed so remote. It has now come not only to our doorstep, but has pierced our lives. Clearly, this entire episode is frightening and difficult, but let us not lose sight, however, that we are following the procedures mandated by our state’s health department to try to prevent the spread of this virus. That is a sacred obligation that we all must take very seriously,” Rabbi Reuven Fink of Young Israel of New Rochelle wrote on Facebook.

Cuomo said people who are required to be under self-quarantine are policed by health officials by phone and video chat.

Officials are also monitoring seven employees at the law firm and an intern there. They are all undergoing testing. Five are being tested in New York City and one in New Jersey. The remaining two are also being tested.

https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2020/03/04/coronavirus-update-new-rochelle-man-self-quarantine/

Edited March 4, 2020 by niman

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Coronavirus Updates: Five More Close Individuals Associated With Westchester Man Test Positive

BY JEN CHUNG AND ELIZABETH KIM

MARCH 4, 2020 4:00 P.M.

 • 180 COMMENTS

Mayor de Blasio holds a press briefing on the coronavirus cases in New York. DANNY LEWIS / WNYC

 

UPDATE 3:30 p.m. Five more people who had contact with the Westchester man have tested positive for COVID-19. The individuals were identified as a close friend of the man, along with his wife, and their two sons and a daughter. Governor Andrew Cuomo delivered the news during his third press briefing of the day. One other daughter tested negative, he said.

The family lives in New Rochelle. The governor said the children attend Westchester Torah Academy, which is located in White Plains. He said he met with officials of the school earlier today and that it would remain closed until Friday.

It is not yet known where the newly infected man or his wife works.

"It could have happened anywhere and it will," Cuomo said. "The number of people infected will continue to increase."

The family members are self-quarantined at home and have shown symptoms, officials said.

UPDATE 2 p.m. The city is now releasing more information about the unnamed Westchester man and his family who have tested positive for COVID-19. Late Tuesday, Mayor Bill de Blasio identified the law firm where the man worked as Lewis and Garbuz, a trusts and estates law firm with seven employees and one intern. At a press briefing, the mayor confirmed that the firm's office is located at 60 East 42nd Street. De Blasio said the man's wife worked at the firm as well

Unlike the first confirmed NYC case, where the woman was a health care worker who had traveled to Iran, a country with a significant outbreak of coronavirus, health officials do not know the source of the Westchester man's infection. The city's disease detectives are searching for clues by looking at their contacts and asking those who have been in contact with the individuals to self-quarantine.

Earlier today, Yeshiva University, where the man's son attended college, announced that two students are being tested. De Blasio identified them as the roommate and close friend of the son, who was last on campus on February 27th.

Five individuals at the couple's law firm are also being tested.

Prior to de Blasio's briefing, Cuomo said that eight employees at the Lawrence Hospital in Bronxville, where the Westchester man was first cared for, are also being tested.

The mayor also told reporters that the city will punish price gouging on items like masks or hand sanitizers. Individuals who observe price gouging should call 311.

He also said that the Taxi & Limousine Commission has provided new guidance on a daily cleaning protocol for taxi drivers. The MTA has said it would institute a deep cleaning of the subway and bus system every 72 hours.

Neither de Blasio no Cuomo have said whether the man and his wife took Metro North and the subway while coming to Manhattan for work.

UPDATE 1 p.m. Governor Andrew Cuomo said that as many as 1,000 people might be asked to self-quarantine themselves as a result of possibly having contact with a Westchester man, his three family members and neighbor who have tested positive for COVID-19.

The governor described the measure as being "overly cautious" in the wake of several confirmed cases. "The investigation starts," he said during the second press briefing on the situation of the day. "You’re trying to find as many people who may have been in contact."

The man, a 50-year-old attorney who lives in New Rochelle, is currently in stable condition at New York-Presbyterian Hospital. His family, as well as the neighbor, are all under mandatory quarantine at their homes.

Cuomo said that new tests were being administered for the neighbor's children, as well as eight employees at the Lawrence Hospital in Bronxville where the sickened Westchester man was first cared for.

SAR Academy and High School, where the man's 14-year-old daughter attended school, will be closed until after the Jewish holiday of Purim, which ends the night of March 10th. The elementary school at SAR Academy will only be closed through Friday, with no self-quaratine required for students and staff.

Cuomo said the man's synagogue, which he did not name but has been reported as being Young Israel of New Rochelle, will be closed through March 8th. All of those congregants, he said, should also self-quarantine themselves.

Yeshiva University, where the man's 20-year-old son attended college, will be closed through this Friday. The governor said the son lived on the Washington Heights campus of the university.

The general intention for self-quarantining is to limit contact and the risk of infecting other people, the governor said. Those who cannot find an appropriate place to self-quarantine should seek assistance from the state, he added.

YESHIVA UNIVERSITY

UPDATE 9:45 a.m. The wife, 14-year-old daughter, 20-year-old son and a neighbor who drove the Westchester man to the hospital have all tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total confirmed cases in New York State to six.

Governor Andrew Cuomo announced the latest findings during a press conference this morning. He said that health officials were now trying to trace the contacts of these individuals. The wife and daughter had been self-quarantined in their home. Earlier today (see below) Yeshiva University, where the man's son is a student, announced a positive test and said it was canceling all classes at its Washington Heights campus today.

In a statement, Mayor Bill de Blasio said, “As of this morning, two contacts have transferred to Bellevue hospital for testing. We will continue working closely with our State partners to ensure we are doing everything we can to keep New Yorkers safe.”

Asked if the Westchester man took Metro North to commute to his law firm in Midtown Manhattan, Cuomo said state officials did not know and were working to find that out.

Cuomo said that he plans to hold a meeting at noon on Wednesday with county officials in Westchester, as well as the heads of the schools that may have had exposure. The man's daughter attends a Jewish high school in the Riverdale neighborhood in the Bronx called SAR Academy and High School. The school has multiple campuses, all of which are now closed.

The governor also said that SUNY and CUNY will order all of its study abroad students in China, Italy, Japan, South Korea and Iran to return home. The students, approximately 300, will come back on a chartered plane to Stewart airport and be quarantined for 14 days in a dormitory.

From the start, Cuomo has tried to allay the public's concern about the disease, although on Tuesday the World Health Organization gave a new alarming estimate on the fatality rate of the coronavirus—3.4 percent—which is higher than previous estimates of roughly 2 percent. The death rate of the flu is well below 1 percent.

The governor emphasized that as more people in the state undergo testing, the number of confirmed cases is expected to swell.

“There are going to be many, many people who test positive," he said. "The more you test you will find people who will test positive."

Still, he downplayed the danger of the disease, saying that the majority of people recover on their own.

UPDATE 9:15 a.m. Yeshiva University announced Wednesday morning that a student has tested positive for COVID-19, making this the third confirmed case of the new coronavirus disease in New York state.

"We have unfortunately received news this morning that our student has tested positive for COVID-19. Our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family as well as to all those affected," the university said in a statement. "We are taking every precaution by canceling all classes on Wilf Campus in Washington Heights for Wednesday March 4th, 2020."

The statement continued, "This includes all in-person graduate courses on that campus as well as at the boys’ high school. This precautionary step will allow us to work with city agencies and other professionals to best prepare our campus and ensure the uncompromised safety of our students, faculty and staff. "

The school's three other campuses in Manhattan and the Bronx will remain in operation.

On Tuesday, New York state and city officials announced that the second person with coronavirus was a man in his 50s who lives in New Rochelle and commutes to Manhattan for work. He had not been to any of the countries with outbreaks (China, Iran, Italy, Japan, and South Korea), but had traveled to Israel and Miami in February. He is hospitalized in "severe" condition.

His family is also in quarantined in their home. One of his children is a daughter who attends SAR Academy and a high school in Riverdale, prompting the school to close its locations, while another child is a son who attends Yeshiva University and lived on the Wilf campus in Washington Heights. The daughter did not have any symptoms, while the son did have symptoms.

It is unclear if the Yeshiva student diagnosed with coronavirus is the son of the second patient.

Officials also characterized the Westchester man as being the first case of "community spread" of the disease. Community spread is when someone contracts the illness without having been knowingly in contact with someone who also has disease or having traveled to one of the countries where coronavirus first spread.

The temple, Young Israel of New Rochelle, where the man worshipped has stopped its services indefinitely, and worshipers who attended services on February 22nd or a funeral and a bat mitzvah on February 23rd were asked to self-quarantine until March 8.

The first person infected with coronavirus in New York was identified on Monday as a health care professional who had been in Iran. She and her husband, who officials believe will test positive for coronavirus, are in self-quarantine in Manhattan.

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