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The COVID-19 coronavirus is spreading in New York City. On Wednesday, March 4, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that a family of four has tested positive for the virus. The family’s neighbor has also been diagnosed which brings the number of cases in New York to six.
The family includes a lawyer, his wife, son who is a Yeshiva University student, and their younger daughter.
“We have unfortunately received news this morning that our student has tested positive for COVID-19. Our thoughts are with him and his family as well as to all those affected,” Yeshiva University said in a statement, via the New York Post.
“We are taking every precaution by canceling all classes on Wilf Campus in Washington Heights. This includes all in-person graduate courses on that campus as wall as the boys’ high school.”
The father is being treated at NewYork-Presbyterian Lawrence Hospital in Bronxville while the rest of the family is being self quarantined.
The coronavirus mainly comes from animals and a majority of those who were infected early either worked at or frequently visited the Huanan seafood wholesale market in Wuhan, according to The Guardian. The virus is similar to Severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) and Middle Eastern respiratory syndrome (Mers).
The Wuhan coronavirus is transmitted from person to person through “droplet transmission.” That means an infected person can pass the virus by sneezing or coughing on another person as well as by direct contact.
While a majority of the cases have been detected in China, it has now reached many countries around the world including the United States. It has also been confirmed in Italy, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, and many other eastern countries.
