Bellevue patient
didn’t have
coronavirus: city
The governor and mayor outlined the measures
taken to prepare for the novel coronavirus
outbreak.
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
New York City’s
Health Department
is breathing a sigh
of relief — for now.
The Centers for Disease
Control reported Tuesday
that tests for the first suspected
coronavirus patient
in New York City, who is
hospitalized at NYC Health
+ Hospitals/Bellevue, came
back negative, Mayor Bill de
Blasio announced.
Results of similar tests
for two other suspected
coronavirus patients remain
pending. They are currently
hospitalized at Flushing
Hospital Medical Center
and NewYork-Presbyterian
Queens in Flushing.
In all three instances,
medical professionals collected
samples from the
patients and sent them to the
CDC in Atlanta for testing.
The city Health Department
anticipated results for each
within 36 to 48 hours, but
entering Tuesday, nothing
had been reported.
De Blasio expressed some
relief in the negative result.
“We’re relieved to hear
that the person in question
does not have the novel coronavirus,”
the mayor said. “I
can’t say this enough: if you
have the symptoms and
recent travel history, please
see your health provider
immediately.”
All three patients had
recently traveled to China,
where the coronavirus
PHOTO VIA FLICKR
outbreak began.
During an appearance on
NY1’s Inside City Hall on
Monday, de Blasio vented
over the “cumbersome”
coronavirus testing process.
As of then, the CDC is the
only entity authorized to
conduct coronavirus tests,
although that responsibility
is expected to be expanded
to others in the days and
weeks to come.
“I’ve made a formal request
of the CDC to allow
New York City to do its
own testing literally at the
City Health Department
lab across the street from
Bellevue,” de Blasio said on
Feb. 3. “Today we got some,
hopefully, promising news.
The CDC is taking that
request very seriously and
we hope to have a formal
answer soon. But the reality
is once you have a confirmation
of – or knowledge,
I should say, that it is not
one of the other identifiable
similar diseases then
you proceed to test for the
coronavirus. That then can
take up to two days for just
the testing itself.”
Coronavirus symptoms
resemble those for other
common ailments such as
influenza, including fever,
cough and/or shortness of
breath. Anyone who experiences
these symptoms
should seek immediate
medical care, and notify
their health care provider
or emergency room ahead
of time.
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