(CNN) — The biggest city in the United States is now a search zone for anyone who had close contact with five new novel coronavirus cases.
A total of six people across New York are infected with coronavirus, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Wednesday.
They include the city’s first case of community spread — meaning the source of infection is unknown.
That patient, an attorney in his 50s, is in critical condition at New York-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center. The man has an underlying respiratory condition which made him more vulnerable to the virus, said Dr. Howard Zucker, commissioner of the New York State Department of Health.
The man has connections across New York. He works at the Lewis and Garbuz law firm in Manhattan and his family lives in suburban Westchester County. His 20-year-old son attends Yeshiva University in Manhattan and his 14-year-old daughter attends SAR Academy and High School in the Bronx.
Now the man’s wife, son, daughter, and a neighbor who drove the sick man to the hospital are all infected with coronavirus, Cuomo said.
#UPDATE: the wife, son, daughter and neighbor of man ill w/ #coronavirus have tested positive. Six confirmed cases now in NY @wsvn
— Lorena Estrada (@EstradaLorena) March 4, 2020
The five new cases of coronavirus follow the state’s first case, a health care worker who had recently returned from Iran.
She has been isolated at her home in Manhattan along with her husband. As of Wednesday, the husband does not have coronavirus, Cuomo said.
But for the five new cases, scouring New York for potential contacts is a daunting task.
The names of the attorney, his family members and his neighbor have not been publicly released. But city health officials are asking anyone who had close contact with the family to call 311.
“Now, more than ever, New Yorkers must come together as a city to limit the spread,” said city Health Commissioner Dr. Oxiris Barbot.
“The Health Department will do everything in our power to minimize the disruption caused by this evolving situation, and we will continue to communicate openly and honestly with New Yorkers,” Barbot said.
SAR Academy and High School, where the 14-year-old girl is a student, has voluntarily closed.
Yeshiva University, which the girl’s 20-year-old brother attends, said it is “taking every precaution by canceling all classes on Wilf Campus in Washington Heights for Wednesday March 4, 2020.”
“This precautionary step will allow us to work with city agencies and other professionals to best prepare our campus and ensure the uncompromised safety of our students, faculty and staff,” Yeshiva said in a statement.
” All classes and operations at our other campuses continue as normal.”
The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2025 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.