New Jersey confirms first coronavirus case as man in his 30s is hospitalized

New Jersey confirms its first coronavirus case as man in his 30s is hospitalized and governor Phil Murphy urges residents to ‘remain calm’

• New Jersey announced its first presumptive positive case of the new coronavirus
• Officials said man in his 30s was hospitalized in Bergen County since Tuesday
• He had some type of contact with one of the 11 cases confirmed in New York
• Governor Phil Murphy urged residents to ‘remain calm’ in an official statement

By Chris Dyer For Dailymail.com

Published: 10:25 GMT, 5 March 2020 | Updated: 10:39 GMT, 5 March 2020

New Jersey has its first presumptive positive case of the deadly new coronavirus after a man was taken to hospital with symptoms.

Health officials in the state reported that the man in his 30s was hospitalized in Bergen County and has been treated since Tuesday.

The New Jersey patient reportedly had some type of contact with one of the 11 cases that have been confirmed in New York.

He was unaware he had coronavirus and may have spread it to others in New Jersey unwittingly, according to NBC New York.

The state’s Department of Health are tracing individuals who may have had close contact with the man, officials said.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy speaks during a news conference. On Wednesday Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli, and Acting Governor Sheila Oliver announced the first presumptive positive case of novel coronavirus

Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli, and Acting Governor Sheila Oliver, announced the first presumptive positive case in the state via a statement 

The US has seen 157 cases and 11 deaths, with Washington at the epicenter of the outbreak

On Wednesday Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli, and Acting Governor Sheila Oliver, announced the first presumptive positive case of novel virus that has killed more that 3,200 worldwide and seen over 95,000 cases. 

So far the US has seen 157 cases and 11 deaths, with Washington state at the epicenter of the outbreak, with 39 cases and 10 deaths.

Governor Phil Murphy reported on Wednesday that the first case had been discovered and urged residents to ‘remain calm’.

He said in a statement: ‘My Administration is working aggressively to keep residents safe and contain the spread of COVID-19 in New Jersey.

‘We take this situation very seriously and have been preparing for this for weeks. I urge residents to remain calm and use resources from the New Jersey Department of Health and Centers for Disease Control to prepare and prevent the spread of infection.

Gov. Murphy greeting people before his budget address in Trenton, New Jersey. He urged residents to ‘remain calm’ after the first case of coronavirus was discovered in the state 

‘Safeguarding the public’s health is one of my highest priorities and my Administration is prepared to respond swiftly to any additional positive cases of COVID-19 here in New Jersey.’

Yesterday federal health officials said they were providing New Jersey with $1.75 million of initial funding to respond to the virus.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Republicans and Democrats had reached a deal to fund the response to the outbreak nationwide to the tune of $8.3 billion. 

New Jersey Department of Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli said: ‘Any case of novel coronavirus in our state is concerning, however most New Jersey residents are at very low risk of contracting COVID-19.’ 

Yesterday Gov. Murphy has surgery to remove what was likely a cancerous tumor on his kidney.

Acting governor, Sheila Oliver, who was elected with Murphy as the state’s lieutenant governor in 2017, said in a tweet that the governor is resting at a New York hospital and the operation was successful.

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