By Brianne Ledda and Alek Lewis
Updated March 3, 6:10 p.m. with new information from Suffolk County Executive, Steve Bellone.
There is now one confirmed coronavirus case in Suffolk County, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a press briefing on Sunday.
This news comes a day after Cuomo declared a state of emergency for New York in a press conference on Saturday. He did not disclose the patient’s location.
Suffolk County Executive, Steve Bellone, confirmed on Twitter Sunday afternoon that the patient is a man in his early 40s, “hospitalized and in isolation.”
There are now 105 total confirmed coronavirus cases in New York. Five of those cases are in Nassau County, and 12 are in New York City.
It’s not clear what Stony Brook University’s response will be. At least one professor has already sent out an email telling students that they were asked to teach online next week, and Interim Provost Minghua Zhang sent out a coronavirus update on Thursday advising faculty to prepare online lessons.
If a SUNY student is diagnosed with the coronavirus, the student is encouraged to contact their disability services offices on their campus.
“We can understand as the community spread develops, students who are at high risk of illness may seek to avoid going to class in-person. Maybe they would get course-work online,” Austin Ostro, president of the SUNY student assembly and student representative for the SUNY Board of Trustees said during a virtual town hall on March 6. “For those students, those opportunities will be extended.”
New York is implementing a mandatory quarantine on people who have tested positive for the virus, come within six feet of individuals tested positive for coronavirus and on people with virus symptoms who have traveled to China, Iran, Japan, South Korea or Italy.
The state is also implementing a precautionary quarantine on people who have traveled to China, Iran, Japan, South Korea or Italy, even if they aren’t displaying symptoms.
One of the labs testing for the virus is at Stony Brook University, according to a March 5 tweet from Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
Twenty-two SUNY students who were studying abroad in Italy will be quarantined on Stony Brook Southampton campus for the next two weeks.
Maya Brown contributed reporting.
Brianne Ledda
Brianne Ledda is a senior journalism major minoring in history and environmental studies. She started writing for the Statesman's News Section in her first few weeks at Stony Brook University, and was promoted to Editor-in-Chief at the end of the Spring 2020 semester. You can contact Brianne via email at [email protected]
