New Jersey hospital isolates patient suspected of having the coronavirus as 22 residents of the Garden State are placed in quarantine
Patient is being tested at Bayshore Medical Center in Holmdel, New Jersey
At least 22 residents of Monmouth and Ocean Counties are quarantined at home
Quarantine is precautionary as patients haven’t shown symptoms, officials say
New Jersey and Connecticut received approval to begin testing for coronavirus
By ARIEL ZILBER
DAILYMAIL.COM
29 February 2020
A New Jersey resident suspected of having the coronavirus is being tested while kept in isolation at a local hospital.
The patient, whose identity and gender are unknown, is being held in quarantine 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, the vice president of Infection Prevention and Control for Hackensack Meridian Health Bayshore Medical Center, said in an email to clinicians on Friday.
‘Led by our Infection Prevention team, they are working with New Jersey’s Department of Health in accordance with protocols provided by the US Centers for Disease Control…’
In the email which was obtained by Asbury Park Press, Zuckerman said that the patient has been placed in isolation.
The hospital has taken precautionary measures, including the use of ‘personal protective equipment’ by staff as well as visitor restrictions, according to Zuckerman.
‘We continue to screen patients with appropriate symptoms for travel history to China, Italy, Iran, Japan, and South Korea,’ Zuckerman said.
‘Symptoms include fever, cough and shortness of breath.’
New Jersey authorities say that at least 22 residents of Monmouth and Ocean Counties have been quarantined at their homes after they returned from trips to countries that have been affected by the outbreak.
Authorities say that the measures are purely precautionary as none of the people in quarantine have shown any symptoms as of Wednesday.
So far, nearly 86,000 people in at least 53 countries have been infected with coronavirus.
Of those who have been infected, a reported 2,933 have died – most of them in China.
In recent days, the number of new infections outside of China has outpaced those within the country. The rapid spread has sent global financial markets spiraling.
As of early Saturday morning, there were at least 67 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the United States.
