Federal Judge From Greenwich Dies Of Coronavirus

GREENWICH, CT — A federal judge from Greenwich who presided over the trial in the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center has died after contracting the new coronavirus, according to media reports.

The Greenwich Time reported retired U.S. District Judge Kevin Duffy, 87, died Wednesday after contracting the virus. Family members confirmed his death, according to the paper.

Duffy was in the short-term rehabilitation section of the Nathaniel Witherell care center before testing positive for the virus and moving to Greenwich Hospital, according to the Time. Duffy lived in Greenwich for the past several years and continued to practice law in town at Duffy and Staab LLC.

According to a New York Times obituary, Duffy presided over decades of high-profile trials in Manhattan, including those of mob bosses and, most famously, the trial of militants convicted in the 1993 attack on the World Trade Center.

Because of his involvement in various terrorism cases, Duffy had round-the-clock security for about a decade, according to The Times. He also oversaw a "drawn-out" case in the 1970s concerning New York City's air quality.

Duffy spent 44 years as a district judge in the Southern District of New York before retiring in 2016, according to the Greenwich Time.

Late Wednesday afternoon, Greenwich First Selectman Fred Camillo announced three town residents died as a result of the coronavirus, also referred to as COVID-19. Though he did not identify the residents by name, Camillo said the they were "an 87-year-old man, a 96-year-old man and a 101-year-old woman."

Camillo said seven patients at Greenwich Hospital died from the virus. The first selectman emphasized that not all of those patients are Greenwich residents, as the hospital draws in patients from other municipalities in Connecticut and Westchester County, New York. (To sign up for Greenwich breaking news alerts and more, click here.)

"We are saddened by the loss of any life," Camillo said. "Our hearts, our thoughts and our prayers are with the families of those three residents."

Camillo noted that people of all ages are dying and residents should not "take their foot off the brake" in regard to staying home and social distancing.

"This is no joke," Camillo said. "Social distancing and physical distancing is really helping, but we're going to see more deaths sadly; just how many depends on us."

As of Wednesday, 150 Greenwich residents tested positive for the virus, according to town Health Director Caroline Baisley. That number was up from the 137 positive cases reported Tuesday.

As of noon on Wednesday, there were 95 COVID-19 patients being treated at Greenwich Hospital in several different units, Camillo said. The number reflected patients who live in Greenwich and others who live in other areas of Connecticut and Westchester County.

A total of 1,819 outpatient swabs have been taken at the hospital testing site to date and 448 results were positive, Camillo said.

See also: Greenwich Coronavirus Updates: 3 Town Residents Die From Virus

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COVID-19 is caused by a member of the coronavirus family that's a close cousin to the SARS and MERS viruses that have caused outbreaks in the past.