2 more 'presumptive positive' coronavirus cases identified in NJ; total at 6

Two more "presumptive positive" coronavirus cases have been identified in New Jersey, bringing the total to six.

News 12 Staff

Mar 8, 2020, 5:35 PM

Updated 1,674 days ago

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Two more "presumptive positive" coronavirus cases have been identified in New Jersey, bringing the total to six, Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver said Sunday.
"We expect increasing activity daily, if not hourly," said Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli.
The first new patient is a 70-year-old health care worker from Teaneck. He was admitted to St. Joseph's Medical Center in Paterson on March 6 where he is in the ICU, but is in stable condition. Because of his condition, the local Health Department has not been able to do a full interview to determine New Jersey contacts or potential exposure to COVID-19.
The second is a 32-year-old man from West New York in Hudson County. He was admitted to Hackensack University Medical Center on March 5. Interviews have not been completed with this person either.
On Saturday, state officials had said there were 15 under investigation; they said Sunday that they were able to complete nine of those tests, including the two that came back positive and the other seven that were negative. They say that at this point, there has been no confirmation from the CDC on the results.
In total, officials say they are currently tracking 27 people under investigation, including nine in Bergen County; four in Monmouth County; three in Essex County; three in Union County; two in Cumberland County; two in Hunterdon County; two in Middlesex County; one in Sussex County; and one in Camden County.
The update comes as cases continue to climb in neighboring New York, which now has 105 confirmed cases.
Authorities say that an Uber driver from New York who tested positive for the virus had also transported people to New Jersey. Authorities are in the process of getting information from the driver to ascertain any potential exposure in New Jersey.
At this point, there are no confirmed tests from the CDC on any of the presumptive positive cases in New Jersey. Officials had expected results on the first two cases Saturday. They have not gotten them yet but say that information could be received at any point.
Results on cases three and four are expected by end of day Tuesday or Wednesday. Results on cases five and six are expected by the end of the week.
Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver said the best way residents can protect themselves is by practicing safe respiratory hygiene and to stay home and call their health care practitioner if they feel sick.
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