Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday confirmed a second case of coronavirus in New York state, this one just outside of New York City.

The 50 year-old man lives with his family in Westchester County and works in Manhattan, Cuomo said. The man has an underlying respiratory condition and is currently hospitalized, Cuomo said.

The novel coronavirus, or COVID-19—a respiratory disease experts believe originated in Wuhan, China—has spread to at least 72 countries, infected over 90,000 people, and killed at least 3,000. Nine people in the United States had died from the virus as of Tuesday afternoon.

Cuomo announced Monday the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in New York, a woman in her late 30s who had recently traveled to Iran. The patient has been isolated since returning to New York, Cuomo said in a statement.

“We said for the past several weeks that with this coronavirus situation you’re going to see continued spreading,” Cuomo said. “That spreading is inevitable.”

Unlike the first patient, the second patient does not have any known connections to areas with a COVID-19 outbreak, Cuomo said. This may suggest the disease is spreading in communities that have no clear connection to the virus, he said.

The spread of COVID-19 should not be a cause for New Yorkers to panic, Cuomo said. He noted that the virus’ death rate is low in the United States.

“Eighty percent of the people who will get this virus will self-resolve,” Cuomo said. “They might not even know they had the virus. Twenty percent could get ill.”

State officials are now working to determine how the virus may continue to spread, Cuomo said. A school one of the patient’s children attended has closed to mitigate the possibility of infection, he said.

Two more families in Buffalo recently traveled to parts of Italy where the coronavirus has spread, Cuomo said. Those families are in isolation and are being tested for the virus, he said.

Syracuse University has taken precautionary measures to prevent the spread of the virus. SU has restricted university travel to three countries experiencing COVID-19 outbreaks, suspended the SU Abroad program in Florence, Italy and begun creating a plan to finish the semester online if on-campus classes are suspended.

Cuomo also announced a new directive Monday requiring state health insurers to waive cost-sharing associated with coronavirus testing, including emergency room, urgent care and office visits.

“We can’t let cost be a barrier to access to COVID-19 testing for any New Yorker,” Cuomo tweeted.

New Yorkers receiving Medicaid coverage will not have to pay a copay for any testing related to COVID-19, Cuomo said.

Published on March 3, 2020 at 5:41 pm

Contact Chris: cjhippen@syr.edu