NEW YORK (WKBW) — The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene announced Saturday the first person in New York City is being tested for novel coronavirus.
In a tweet, the NYCDOH said:
"The first person in NYC has been identified for testing for the novel #coronavirus. This means they had recently traveled from China & presented with fever and cough or shortness of breath without another common cause, like influenza and other cold viruses, identified on testing."
NYCDOH says the individual is under 40-years-old and is hospitalized at an NYC hospital listed as stable.
"Testing to determine whether this is a confirmed case of the novel #coronavirus will take a minimum of 36-48 hours and depends on CDC testing capacity," said NYCDOH in a tweet.
There have been eight confirmed cases of novel coronavirus in the United States and over 12,000 worldwide.