First Coronavirus Case Confirmed In NYC: Officials

NEW YORK CITY — The first person to test positive for novel coronavirus in New York City is a health care worker who returned from a trip to Iran Tuesday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced.

"We don't believe she was contagious when she was on the plane, " Cuomo said Monday morning. "Or when she took a private car from the airport to her residence. "

The 39-year-old woman, not considered in serious condition, self-isolated in her Manhattan home with a mild respiratory illness, Cuomo said.

"She doesn't need a hospital," Cuomo said. "The case that tested positive should be an affirmation."

The woman's husband, also a health care worker, is being tested at Mt. Sinai and remains at home with his wife, Cuomo said.

"We said early on, this wasn't a question of if but when," Cuomo said. "The whole challenge is about containment of the number of people who become expected."

The woman's positive test was confirmed in Wadsworth Lab in Albany one day after Vice President Mike Pence and the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control approved the state to conduct testing, Cuomo said.

Moving forward, New York schools, school buses, senior centers and homes for immune suppressed New Yorkers will be cleaned with bleach, according to Cuomo.

The governor also hopes to coordinate private hospitals and labs across the state will coordinate to conduct 1,000 tests per day within a week, the governor promised.

"The more testing the better," Cuomo said. "We have much more capacity than testing that's being requested."

There have been 1,200 New York City hospital beds have been reserved for potential novel coronavirus patients, officials said.

Ten New York City dwellers have been tested for novel coronavirus and one case is still pending, according to the city's Health Department.

New York City Council will hold a hearing on COVID-19 Thursday, and city officials are urging New Yorkers to remain calm.

"Get ready, here it comes, said Mayor Bill de Blasio. "This is something we can all handle together."

There have been more than 89,000 cases reported worldwide with more than 3,000 deaths, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.

Health Commissioner Dr. Oxiris Barbot told New Yorkers to continue their normal routines — not to avoid public transit — but to be diligent about hand-washing.

“Ride the subway, take the bus, go see your neighbors," Barbot said. "We need to separate facts from fear, and guard against stigma and panic."