Officials: Long Island's coronavirus case possibly 'community spread'; 22 cases in NY

The first confirmed case of the new coronavirus has surfaced on Long Island, about two months after the outbreak started in China, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said Thursday. It is one of 22 confirmed COVID-19 cases in New York.

A 42-year-old man who is a resident of Nassau County tested positive for the virus and is one of four hospitalized patients, according to the governor. An NYU Winthrop Hospital spokeswoman said he is being treated at that facility in Mineola. State officials said the man is not in intensive care and his condition is "improving."

The Nassau County patient lives in Uniondale, according to a source.

New York State Health Commissioner Howard Zucker said, during an afternoon news conference on Long Island alongside Cuomo, that state health officials do not believe the man contracted the virus during travel and that this was an instance of "community spread."

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, "community spread" is defined as spread of an illness for which the source of infection is unknown. It means health officials do not believe the patient has a relevant travel history or exposure to another known patient with COVID-19.

The count of cases is bound to rise as more samples are tested, Cuomo said.

“The number will increase because this will spread," Cuomo said, "and the number will increase because it is math. The more people you test the more positives you will find.”

The man has underlying medical conditions, said Cuomo, who was joined by Nassau County Executive Laura Curran, Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone and local hospital officials at the news conference. Cuomo said both Northwell Health and Stony Brook University will be helping process tests for the virus.

Of the 11 new cases announced Thursday, two were in New York City, eight in Westchester County as well as the one in Nassau County.

Speaking about the Nassau County case, Curran said the man is in hospital isolation and his close contacts have been advised to isolate themselves.

“When we got the positive result this morning we launched a contact investigation,” she said.

A team of investigators is looking at the man’s routine and possible contacts, Curran said.

Also on Thursday, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said the two new city cases of COVID-19 involve a 40-year-old man with pre-existing respiratory issues related to smoking and vaping and an 80-year-old woman whose illness is connected to her advanced age. One is hospitalized in Brooklyn and the other in Manhattan, city officials said.

"Neither patient has a connection to travel nor any of the other local individuals diagnosed with COVID-19," de Blasio said earlier. "Both are currently hospitalized and in the intensive care unit. City disease detectives are tracing close contacts of both individuals and will ensure they are appropriately isolated and tested immediately."

Eight of the new cases were people who had contact with a New Rochelle lawyer, who tested positive for the virus earlier this week, according to Zucker.

Cuomo has emphasized that 80% of people who contract the virus will “self-resolve” and may have mild or no symptoms. About 20% could require hospitalization, but most of those would be elderly or suffering from a pre-existing respiratory ailment.

“I’m worried about undue fear," Cuomo said. "I’m worried about nursing homes, senior care facilities, and senior congregate settings.”

De Blasio also urged anyone who's coming back from China, Iran, Italy, South Korea or Japan to voluntarily isolate for 14 days.

And New York City Health Commissioner Dr. Oxiris Barbot has signed an order that would forcibly quarantine first responders, health care workers, and educators who refuse to take a coronavirus test, if they are asked to do so.

So far, the known outbreak in the state is focused in Westchester County, where 1,000 people are being isolated, mostly in their own homes. The New Rochelle lawyer, who works in midtown Manhattan, was announced as a positive case on Tuesday. Since then, several friends and family members have tested positive for the virus as well.

One of the man’s children’s schools has closed temporarily along with Yeshiva University, where another child attended and lived on campus, state officials said.

The man was in the intensive care unit of the New York-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center Wednesday, but Cuomo said he had an underlying respiratory ailment.

A 39-year-old healthcare worker in New York City who tested positive is recovering at home.

Meanwhile, about 300 New York students and faculty in study-abroad programs from countries that have had outbreaks of the virus will be headed back to the U.S. and quarantined, including in dorms on Long Island, officials said.

"To ensure we are able to test as many people as possible, we urgently need the CDC to increase our supply of COVID-19 test kits and expedite the approval of any testing approaches developed by private companies," de Blasio said. "Our single greatest challenge is the lack of fast federal action to increase testing capacity — without that, we cannot beat this epidemic back.”

Cuomo said the $35 million he believes the state will receive under an emergency federal funding package is "insufficient."

With Matthew Chayes and Craig Schneider