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Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on Thursday, March 5 that the number of cases had risen to 18, with the eight new cases all related to the 50-year-old New Rochelle attorney who was the first county resident to contract the virus.
A day earlier, Cuomo announced the wife and children of the attorney tested positive. A neighbor, a friend, and his friend's family also tested positive, bringing the number to 10.
The statewide total is now 22, with three cases in New York City and the first confirmed case on Long Island.
“The numerical update today is we had 11 new cases (confirmed) after we did a significant number of tests overnight, we have a new count of an additional 11 (positive tests), so that's 22 statewide,” Cuomo said during a news conference on Thursday. “Eight of the new cases are connected to the attorney from New Rochelle. Two are hospitalized in New York City, and one is on Long Island.”
A total of about 1,000 Westchester residents who may have been exposed to the COVID-19 virus remain in isolation, Cuomo said.
"New Yorkers should focus on facts not fear as we confront this evolving situation, and the facts do not merit the level of anxiety we are seeing," Cuomo said. "The number of cases will increase because it's math - the more you test, the more cases you find. We are testing more people, we are isolating anyone who may have come into contact with the virus, and we are getting people care if they need it."
Howard Zucker, the Commissioner of the New York State Department of Health confirmed that each of the cases ties back to the New Rochelle attorney.
"What ends up happening is the person in the hospital has a friend, and then that friend has a friend, and that friend has family and that's how we track it back to see how far we need to test."
Zucker noted that eight employees at Lawrence Hospital, where the attorney was initially taken, with one testing positive, one testing negative and the rest pending.
In Westchester, two public school districts and a public library have closed their doors to sanitize and help slow down the spread of the virus.
In total, there have been 97,811 confirmed cases of coronavirus worldwide, including 164 in the United States. There has been a total of more than 3,300 deaths.
“What is going to happen is the number will continue to go up. It must, because we are continuing to test more and more. The more you test, the higher the number you will have. And as we’re testing more, because that is a good thing, you’ll see the number going up.
“We’re doing with these cases the same we did with the others. Find a case, trackback, find as many contacts as possible, contact those people and go through the same process over and over again.”
Related stories:
- COVID-19: Library In Westchester Closes Two Days For Sanitizing
- Second Westchester Public School District Closes Due To Coronavirus Concerns
- New Rochelle Mayor Postpones State Of City Address Amid Coronavirus Concerns
This continues to be a developing story. Check back to Daily Voice for updates.
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