Possible Coronavirus Case in Monmouth County; State Creates Information Website
A person is being treated in Monmouth County for a possible case of coronavirus while the state has created a website and hotline for people to find information on the virus.
WCBS-TV reports the unidentified patient is currently in isolation at Bayshore Medical Center in Holmdel.
“Please rest assured that our health care team is taking every precaution in caring for this isolated patient and determining an accurate diagnosis,” Dr. Jerry M. Zuckerman, vice president of infection prevention and control for the hospital, said in an e-mail Friday, according to NJ.com.
Results from tests to confirm if the patient has coronavirus may not be available for several days.
No cases of coronavirus have been diagnosed in New Jersey. By contrast, the state has reported two pediatric deaths from influenza since October and between 4 to 6% of all weekly deaths this season have been attributed to the flu or pneumonia.
The outbreak of novel coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, has infected more that 85,000 people around the world, mostly in the mainland China province of Hubei, where more than 79,000 cases have been diagnosed and 2,835 deaths have been reported, according to the World Heath Organization. In the United States, 62 cases have been diagnosed with no fatalities.
Meanwhile, the State of New Jersey Department of Health has created a website and a toll-free hotline to offer information on coronavirus.
According to the site,
Once a person is infected, the virus causes respiratory illness. Outbreaks of novel virus infections among people are always of public health concern. The risk from these outbreaks depends on the characteristics of the virus, including how well it spreads between people, the severity of the resulting illness, and the medical or other measures available to control the impact of the virus (for example, medications or vaccines).
The 24-hour hotline is (800) 222-1222 and trained healthcare professionals are available to answer questions.
With reporting from Townsquare Media's Dan Alexander.