Greenport Harbor Brewery Worker Is 1st Suffolk Coronavirus Case

PECONIC, NY — Suffolk County's first case of the new coronavirus is an employee at a popular Long Island brewery. The man, who is in his 40s and was reportedly treated at Eastern Long Island Hospital and then taken to Stony Brook Southampton Hospital works at Greenport Harbor Brewing Company in Peconic, the business confirmed to Patch on Monday.

"On Sunday afternoon, March 8, we were notified directly by an employee that they had been diagnosed with COVID-19," the business said in a statement. "This staff member had not been at the workplace since February 24, two weeks earlier."

The brewery said it alerted Suffolk County health officials and immediately notified its employees. The business is following recommended guidelines set forth by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"The [Department of Health] expressed their approval and full agreement with these actions," the brewery said.

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The Greenport Harbor Brewing Company's food service and tasting room in Peconic will remain closed through the end of the week. Qualified cleaners have been hired to perform a deep-clean of the premises, the business said.

In a press conference Monday, Suffolk County Steve Bellone said one person was identified to have been in in close contact with the brewery worker and that person is in mandatory "quarantine to help prevent and contain the spread of the virus."

In addition, Bellone said, in addition to the first identified case, 35 individuals in Suffolk County are under "precautionary quarantine."

Jill Gierasch, Superintendent of the Mattituck-Cutchogue School District, sent a letter to parents Monday stating that the district also has an employee who works weekends at the Greenport Harbor Brewing Company.

"However, they were not in direct contact with one another the last time the employees worked the same shift, which was 11 days ago," she said. "Our employee has no signs of illness. However, as a precautionary measure, we have assigned this person to home to be checked by their physician and self-quarantine until they are deemed unaffected."

The district is wiping down all classrooms, large spaces, doorknobs, light switches, keyboards, and bus seats on a daily basis.

"We will continue with our upgraded cleaning routine and working diligently to ensure the safety and well-being of all students and staff," she said.

Later on Monday, the district will outline the process for closing schools should the need arise in the future, she said.

The news comes as the number of cases of the new coronavirus increased to 142. In New York, Westchester County in the Hudson Valley has the most cases by far at 98, followed by 19 in New York City and 17 in Long Island's Nassau County. Rockland County has four confirmed cases while Saratoga has two, Suffolk has one and Ulster has one. Eight people have been hospitalized, Cuomo said, or about 6 percent.

Longtime East End reporter Gwendolyn Groocock said in a Patch Neighbor Post on Monday she spoke with the Suffolk County patient and that he is recovering. Patch has not independently verified her account.

On Monday, the Shoreham-Wading River School District closed, with buses of students sent back home, after the spouse of a staff member may have had exposure to coronavirus.

Town takes precautions

Southold Town officials are taking steps to protect residents amid news of the county's first coronavirus case. On Monday, Supervisor Scott Russell said the town government remains fully operational, for the time being.

At Tuesday's town board work session, Russell said he will ask the board to alter the current cancellation policy as it pertains to the town's recreation programs.

"Typically, when someone wishes no longer to participate in a program, they are required to notify the recreation department two weeks prior," Russell said. "I am seeking to waive any deadline; however, we have not canceled any programs."

In addition, Russell said he has directed Southold's Department of Public Works to "take extra measures to clean and disinfect all areas of town facilities, especially area of public access."

Southold Town Police Chief Martin Flatley and he, Russell said, maintain communication and coordination with all involved agencies including the Suffolk County Department of Public Health and the Suffolk County Office of Fire, Rescue and Emergency Management, as well as health care providers.

In addition, Russell said, he and Flatley are coordinating a plan of action with local health care providers, schools, Greenport Village and first responders.

The town has coronavirus information currently on its website and will continue share pertinent information with the public as it becomes available, Russell said.

Suffolk County Steve Bellone confirmed, in a statement Sunday, that the Suffolk County 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.

Cuomo over the weekend declared the state of emergency to help New York more quickly and effectively contain the spread of the virus.

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.

There have been about 111,000 cases of the new coronavirus confirmed globally across 109 countries and regions, including more than 500 in the United States, according to Johns Hopkins University. The virus has killed nearly 3,900 people globally, including 22 in the United States.

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

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.

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