First Suffolk County Coronavirus Patient Treated On East End

NORTH FORK, NY — The first Suffolk County coronavirus patient is a man in his early 40s who sought treatment first at Eastern Long Island Hospital in Greenport and was then transferred to Stony Brook Southampton Hospital, according to a source with knowledge of the case who asked to remain unidentified.

Suffolk County Steve Bellone confirmed, in a statement, that the man had tested positive for COVID-19. He is in isolation at the hospital, Bellone said.

"Suffolk County communicable disease professionals have begun a thorough investigation into the patient's contacts, as it is believed that this case was contracted through community transmission," Bellone said.

He added that the county was working with the New York State Department of Health to ensure a "swift and effective" investigation.

David Gamberg, Superintendent of Greenport Schools, sent out a message to parents Sunday night: "You may have read or heard that the first case of a positive coronavirus finding originated from Eastern Long Island Hospital, with a patient who was transferred to Stony Brook Southampton Hospital," he said. "I spoke to a Suffolk County Department of Health nurse, affiliated with the epidemiological disease control unit, and she indicated that the person has nothing to do with the school at this time and they are continuing to investigate."

When asked for details about the individual, Suffolk County Legislator Bridget Fleming said state law prohibits her from sharing any information about the patient. "However, he is in isolation and his health is improving. To ensure the safety of the public, Suffolk County Health Department is thoroughly investigating and will contact directly anyone he may have come in contact with," she said

The news about the first Suffolk coronavirus case came at the same time as 22 SUNY students who had been studying abroad were housed in Southampton campus residence halls.

SUNY, under the direction of the New York State Department of Health, urged all program participants in the impacted countries to return to New York and begin a 14-day precautionary quarantine either at home or at a designated residence hall on one of three designated SUNY campuses. SUNY chartered flights to transport students from Italy, Japan and South Korea, and Stony Brook Southampton was selected as one of the locations for the precautionary quarantine "because it has the facilities, services, technology, clinical and general staffing capabilities to accommodate NYS DOH precautionary quarantine guidelines," a release said.

The students were pre-screened and had no symptoms of the 2019 novel coronavirus, the release said.

The number of new coronavirus cases in New York increased by 16 overnight, climbing to 105 across the state as Gov. Andrew Cuomo asked citizens to do what they can to reduce "density" — including avoiding packed trains.

The geographic breakdown was as follows:

• Westchester: 82
• New York City: 12
• Nassau: 5
• Rockland: 2
• Saratoga: 2
• Suffolk: 1
• Ulster: 1

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After Suffolk County’s first case of coronavirus was confirmed, Rep. Lee Zeldin issued a statement: “Suffolk County’s first confirmed case of coronavirus serves as a reminder for all levels of government to work closely together to try to contain coronavirus as much as possible. This outbreak over the past several weeks has been a quickly evolving situation, and now is not the time to play politics, and, in light of this, I implore our partners in government to improve communication," he said. "At a time like this fear can oftentimes outweigh facts, and we are even more susceptible to fear when the facts are hard to come by, especially with regards to many students being sent to our district from affected countries. Clear, open and constant communication is key to effectively combat this outbreak.”

Last week, Zeldin added, Congress passed $7.8 billion in emergency funding in response to the coronavirus outbreak, including support for state and local health agencies and vaccine and treatment development, and $490 million to temporarily expand Medicare telemedicine services to help ensure seniors' access to coronavirus treatment.

Bellone said while officials are doing all they can to avoid a widespread outbreak, they are asking the public to do the same. "If you are sick, stay home and contact your primary care physician to avoid spreading any illness to others," he said.

Cuomo called the Westchester cases a "warning flag," noting that nearly all are connected. The state is trying to contain the spread of the virus by finding more positive tests and isolating those people to avoid "massively disruptive" mass quarantines, he said.

"We don't want massive close-downs," he said.

Cuomo asked companies to tell workers about liberal sick-leave policies and urged them to allow people to work from home if they feel ill. He reminded residents about the importance of washing their hands to curb the spread and to avoid shaking hands. Furthermore, he asked public transit-riders to avoid tightly packed cars, and even consider letting a train go by if they see it's filled.

"We're trying to reduce density," he said.

A day earlier, Cuomo said there were inevitably going to be more cases because they're testing more people.

"That's a good thing because then we can deal with the situation based on more facts," he said. "We know about 80 percent of those infected will self-resolve. The best way to calm anxieties is to demonstrate absolute government competence, and that's exactly what we're doing."

Saturday's announcements came after a parent of a student at a Hudson Valley elementary school tested positive for the new coronavirus.

In New York City, two people tested positive who had just got off a cruise ship and the other five appeared to be community spread. One was hospitalized in the Rockaways.

Worldwide, there have been about 105,000 cases of coronavirus, known as COVID-19, spanning 79 countries, according to Johns Hopkins University. About 3,500 people have died. In the United States, coronavirus has killed at least 14 people and infected about 340 as of Saturday morning, according to the organization.

Northern Italy quarantined 16 million people after the number of coronavirus cases jumped from 1,200 to 5,883 on Saturday, according to the BBC.

No deaths have been reported in New York.

The outbreak forced President Donald Trump this week to sign an $8.3 billion measure from Congress to tackle the new coronavirus outbreak. The money would pay for a multi-dimensional attack on the virus that is beginning to threaten major disruptions in the United States.

"We are testing aggressively especially along suspected populations by following the infection tree," Cuomo said.

He added the state wants to find positive tests.

"That's good news because we can put them in isolation," he said. "The more positives you find, the better because you can isolate them and slow the spread."

Cuomo also reiterated he's most concerned about vulnerable people, such as seniors, people with underlying conditions and those with weak immune systems.

Cuomo described the overall health risk to New Yorkers as "low."

Amid concerns over the spread of the virus, officials said students at SUNY and CUNY schools studying abroad in China, Iran, Italy, Japan or South Korea — where coronavirus outbreaks are most widespread — will return to New York and remain quarantined for two weeks.

Robert Amler, a dean at New York Medical College and former chief medical officer at the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, told Patch this week the public's overall risk in New York and in the rest of the United States remains low — even "very low."

"Even if exposure occurs, even if infection occurs, for the vast majority of people the risk is still low," he said.

But widespread panic has led to a run on hygiene products at stores nationwide, with soaps, paper towels and hand sanitizers disappearing faster than stores can restock shelves.

Coronavirus fears prompted numerous employers to issue travel advisories to workers, forcing many to rethink plans to visit countries such as Italy, South Korea, China and Japan. Numerous airlines are also waiving change fees for affected travelers.

Concerns also forced Starbucks to tell investors this week it would no longer allow customers to use personal cups and "for here" cups that customers could request. Those who bring in their own cups will have to take a disposable cup.

Many schools have also issued letters to parents about their preparation plans.

During a briefing on the novel coronavirus Saturday, Cuomo said he declared the state of emergency to help New York more quickly and effectively contain the spread of the virus. The state of emergency declaration allows, among other things:

• Expedited procurement of cleaning supplies, hand sanitizer and other essential resources
• Allowing qualified professionals other than doctors and nurses to conduct testing
• Expedited procurement of testing supplies and equipment
• Expedited personnel onboarding
• Expedited leasing of lab space
• Allowing EMS personnel to transport patients to quarantine locations other than just hospitals
• Providing clear basis for price gouging and enforcement investigation

Cuomo also directed the New York State Department of State's Consumer Protection Division to launch an investigation into reports of unfair price increases of consumer products such as household cleaning supplies and hand sanitizer during the novel coronavirus outbreak, and launched a toll-free hotline — 1-800-697-1220 — for New Yorkers to report suspected price gouging.

See also:

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• G.O.O.D. For Girls Cancels Career Expo At Pace University
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