City Council Health Committee Chair Reports Coronavirus Symptoms

MORNINGSIDE HEIGHTS, MANHATTAN — Upper Manhattan Council Member and Chair of the council's Health Committee Mark Levine likely has come down with the coronavirus but will not seek a test, he announced in a tweet.

Levine — who represents parts of the Upper West Side, Harlem and Washington Heights — said Monday that he has a fever and a dry cough and assumes that the has the coronavirus.

The council member, who has been a staunch advocate of preserving coronavirus tests and hospital resources for only those with severe cases, said he will not get tested and instead stay at home while he recovers.

"I'll continue sheltering at home and will be resting as much as possible," Levine said in a Tweet. "My family are thankfully well and we're all in good spirits."

He added that because he is generally in good health he expects "this will [be] nothing worse than going through the flu for a week."

Levine, who is also running for Manhattan Borough President, is at least the third city council member to self-report they have the coronavirus.

The other two members, Bronx Council Member Ritchie Torres, and Brooklyn Council Member Inez Barron,both were tested and have confirmed cases of COVID-19.

Barron, who represents East New York and swath of other Brooklyn neighborhoods, had already been in self-quarantine after her husband, state Assembly Member Charles Barron, tested positive for COVID-19.

Fellow council members and other New Yorkers wished Levine well after hearing the news.

"We are sending you and your family love Mark," City Council Speaker Corey Johnson said in a tweet.

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