UPDATED: Broome County Heath Department officials said today that the results of novel coronavirus testing in both patients in Broome County are negative. There are currently no other people in Broome County under testing, nor any confirmed cases, according to a news release.
No other public health department in the Southern Tier has reported any testing to WEBO.
ORIGINAL STORY: Broome County Health Department issed a news release Monday that it is monitoring two adults, who are being tested for infection by the novel coronavirus that has emerged in China. To be clear, these are not confirmed cases. Tests are underway at the national Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, and we anticipate results in the next couple of days.
Both patients recently returned from separate travel in China. They presented to local medical facilities for evaluation with respiratory symptoms. The staff at the medical facilities carried out their procedures, maintained proper infection control, contacted the Broome County Health Department and obtained necessary specimens for laboratory testing. Those are now in CDC laboratories. Broome County Health Department will provide an update on the results of the coronavirus tests once they are available.
Since neither patient was seriously ill, they were released to their homes under home isolation. They are being supervised by the Broome County Health Department. They are complying with the home isolation procedures and present no risk to the general public.
We are fortunate to have a long history of productive collaboration among our entire medical community in the region, on similar local, national and international outbreaks in the past. Even before these patients presented, we began meeting to review and revise as necessary, our community’s plans for this current situation. We are confident our procedures are robust and effective.
