Brooklyn health care worker tests positive for coronavirus

An emergency briefing regarding coronavirus took place Monday after city leaders confirmed that there are several cases of the virus in Brooklyn.

News 12 Staff

Mar 9, 2020, 9:58 AM

Updated 1,521 days ago

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An emergency briefing regarding coronavirus took place Monday after city leaders confirmed that there are several cases of the virus in Brooklyn.
As of Sunday night, there were 105 confirmed cases in New York state, with one of those cases being a New Jersey man who works in Brooklyn.
Mayor Bill de Blasio says the man is a health care worker at King David Nursing Home in Gravesend and saw 11 patients, but was wearing a mask and gloves at the time.
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Officials say none of those patients are showing signs of symptoms.
On Sunday, de Blasio said that the people most vulnerable to coronavirus are those with pre-existing conditions over the age of 50.
Those pre-existing conditions include heart disease, lung disease, cancer, immune system vulnerability and diabetes. Factors that they've found make an impact on coronavirus cases are those who smoke or vape.
The mayor says if bodily fluids of an infected person get on a human body part that is not the mouth, nose, or eyes, the virus might be able to live a little longer, but for a limited time. However, if someone was to enter a room where an infected person was hours later, they are not in danger.
Regardless, he is urging anyone showing symptoms to stay home and get checked out.
"If you are sick, you shouldn't be going to a public event. If you are sick, you shouldn't be going to work. If you are sick, you shouldn't be going on the subway,” says de Blasio.
He said the virus does not hang in the air for a long period of time. Coronavirus requires a direct level of contact to spread and it does not live long on a surface such as a desk, counter or subway pole.
The health care worker is being closely monitored. News 12 told there is a briefing scheduled in Brooklyn later this afternoon with the borough president, who says he’ll discuss how he’s working on a borough-wide response to the spread of coronavirus.
Watch News 12 each night this week from 7-7:30 p.m. for a call-in show to answer any of your questions concerning the coronavirus outbreak. Then head to our Facebook page at 7:30 p.m. for a Facebook Live discussion.


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