A student from Yeshiva University has become New York City’s third confirmed case of coronavirus.
The student’s identity has not been released but the school announced on Wednesday that they had tested positive for COVID-19. Their condition is unknown.
As a precaution, the school’s Washington Heights campus will shut down on Wednesday.
The diagnosis comes as a 50-year-old Manhattan lawyer remains in the hospital in a severe condition with the virus.
It remains unconfirmed whether he has any relation to the student. He has a son who attends Yeshiva.
Questions remain over how far he was able to travel and if he was able to come into contact with anyone before being quarantined.
The father-of-four commutes from his home in New Rochelle to Manhattan on the Metro-North Railroad. His wife and one of their four kids also works at the law firm where he does.
In addition to him and the student, a 39-year-old female health worker has also tested positive for the virus after returning recently from Iran.
A student at Yeshiva University in Washington Heights (pictured) has tested positive for coronavirus
The lawyer is being treated in the Intensive Care Unit at New York-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center (pictured) in Manhattan’s Upper West Side
In an announcement on Wednesday, Yeshiva said: ‘We have unfortunately received news this morning that our student has tested positive for COVID-19. Our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family as well as to all those affected.
‘We are taking every precaution by canceling all classes on Wilf Campus in Washington Heights for Wednesday March 4, 2020.
‘This includes all in-person graduate courses on that campus as well as at the boys’ high school.’
More information about the virus and its impact in New York City is expected at a press conference on Wednesday.
The lawyer, who is said to have an underlying respiratory condition, was initially hospitalized on Friday at Lawrence Hospital in Bronxville.
He was transferred to the Intensive Care Unit at New York-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center in Manhattan’s Upper West Side on Monday when his condition worsened.
The doctors and nurses who treated him at Lawrence Hospital are also being tested after being placed in quarantine.
Authorities began an intense search on Tuesday to find anyone else who he and his family may have been in contact with, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio told reporters.
The information is expected to be compiled by Wednesday morning and all those thought to be at risk will be informed.
‘City and State disease detectives are working closely to identify close contacts and the appropriate next steps,’ de Blasio said.
Gov Cuomo said this second confirmed case was no cause for alarm and that community spreading in New York City is inevitable.
‘The real issue is how many people will get seriously ill,’ Cuomo said. ‘How many people, God forbid, could lose their lives.’
One of his clients, New Jersey resident Jason Fries, told The Post he was ‘worried’ by the news of his lawyer’s diagnosis, even though the pair have not had physical contact in the past two weeks, which is considered the exposure window for the virus.
‘It’s distressing when one finds out that there are people we know who have come down with it,’ Fries said. ‘It’s not an abstract anymore.’
Additional officers were called to One Grand Central around 1.30 pm on Tuesday amid claims a virus victim worked there
The lawyer is reportedly a regular worshiper at Young Israel synagogue in New Rochelle, which has since been ordered to halt all services immediately by Westchester County Health Commissioner Dr Sherlita Amler.
He is believed to have attended services at the synagogue on February 22 and a funeral and bat mitzvah there on February 23.
Young Israel congregants have been ordered to self-isolate until March 8 at the earliest if they visited the synagogue on either of those days.
A second student at Yeshiva University has placed themselves into self-isolation as a precaution because of their contact with his law firm, school officials said.
The university is not canceling any classes or events but is disinfecting all relevant common areas.
Salanter Akiba Riverdale (SAR) Academy on 254th Street in the Bronx, where his other son – who is not showing symptoms – attended, was closed on Tuesday.
SAR High School a few blocks north was also shuttered as students may have been in contact with the son.
Westchester Day School in Mamaroneck and the Westchester Torah Academy in White Plains also closed Tuesday as a precautionary measure.
He and his wife have two other children who live in Israel.
Officials said the man had not visited any areas linked to the coronavirus outbreak but had recently taken a trip to Miami. There are two confirmed cases in the state of Florida, but none in Miami.
Florida Department of Health officials were angered after learning that he had visited the state via media reports. They are now looking into his travel history.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ spokeswoman Helen Ferre said New York officials were immediately contacted once the news of the man’s travel reached them.
‘New York state officials did not alert Florida officials,’ Ferre said. ‘DOH learned of this case when it was reported by the media.’
It is not known if the man had displayed any symptoms when in Florida.
Governor Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio held a press conference about New York City’s response to coronavirus on Monday
New York’s first case of the virus was a 39-year-old woman who checked herself in to Mount Sinai hospital on Sunday with her husband when they returned to New York City from Iran.
Both healthcare workers, the couple self-isolated knowing the risk that they had contracted COVID-19 while traveling and the woman later tested positive.
She remains quarantined in her Manhattan home and has not been hospitalized. Her symptoms are said to be ‘mild’.
Her husband’s test is still pending but he is thought to be positive.
The woman is not thought to have been contagious when in contact with the public but the car driver from their private car from the airport and the other passengers on their flight have been informed.
In an unrelated case, Cuomo said that two families in Buffalo who recently traveled to Italy are being monitored for symptoms of coronavirus.
De Blasio confirmed that ten people are been tested so far in New York, eight of whom tested negative.
The coronavirus death toll climbed to nine on Tuesday, all in Washington state. There are 120 confirmed cases nationwide.
On Monday, President Donald Trump announced that he has asked developers of a possible vaccine to speed up their process.
Vice President Mike Pence, who Trump appointed to lead the response task force last week, said it was an ‘all hands on deck effort’.
Subway riders have been told they do not need to wear masks unless they already have the coronavirus but many continue to take the precaution as the second New York state case was confirmed on Tuesday in Westchester County
Passengers are seen wearing surgical masks on an MTA bus in Flushing, Queens, on Monday
The New York state legislature on Monday approved a $40million emergency aid package to help track and fight the disease.
Subway cars, stations and trains within the New York City transit system will now be cleaned at least every 72 hours as part of a new policy established by the Metropolitan Transit Authority to combat the spread of the coronavirus.
The clean will focus on areas that are touched by commuters the most often, including subway turnstiles and handrails.
The MTA is said to be working with the National Centers for Disease Control (CDC) as it stockpiles its hygienic and cleaning supplies.
‘While there has been only one confirmed case of coronavirus in New York and it did not involve the mass transit system, we are committed to doing everything we can to keep in front of the situation and protect our customers and employees,’ said MTA Chairman and CEO Pat Foye.
‘Starting tonight we have enacted additional cleaning protocols designed to disinfect our stations, trains, buses, and Access-A-Ride vehicles. Working in coordination with the governor and state and federal health authorities, we continue to aggressively monitor the situation and take all necessary actions to ensure our system remains safe.’
As of Monday, bus and subway screens will also deploy a safety messages warning passengers of the potential spread of the coronavirus and advising the best ways to avoid germs. This guidance is offered in English, Chinese, Spanish, Russian and Korean.
‘The safety of our customers and employees is our first priority as we continue to monitor the coronavirus,’ added Patrick Warren, MTA Chief Safety Officer.
‘The MTA is enhancing its cleaning regimen across all our operating agencies to ensure the system is safe for everyone. The best defense against COVID-19, according to the National Centers for Disease Control, continues to be good hygiene – frequent hand washing and self-care.’
The MTA has urged passengers to follow the recommendations from the CDC to prevent the spread of the virus and to avoid germs on the subway.
Subway cars, stations and trains within the New York City transit system will now be cleaned at least every 72 hours as a second case is confirmed in a man who works in Manhattan
Areas such as turnstiles which are touched more often will be cleaned daily
New York City can now complete its own testing for the virus after being forced to complete the first tests in a lab in Albany.
The testing requires an oral and nasal swab and can now be analyzed at the Health Department’s Public Health Lab on First Avenue in Manhattan.
Gov Cuomo on Monday said that the aim it to test 1,000 people a day by next week in an attempt to identify any outbreaks and place them into isolation to combat the spread but admitted that other confirmed cases in New York are likely.
Mayor de Blasio added that the ability to test in the city means that cases can now be identified in a few hours.
‘Same day service. That is going to allow us to very quickly figure out who has this disease and need particular care and support and who doesn’t. A lot of people who think they may have it turn out not to have it. So this is really important,’ De Blasio said.
Cuomo has since called on New York health insurers to waive the costs associated with the testing after patients and cleared cases were hit with large medical bills in other states. He confirmed that those on Medicaid would not have a copay.