Cuomo: Officials tracking down contacts of first NY coronavirus case

Cuomo: Officials tracking down contacts of first NY coronavirus case

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said a female healthcare worker who traveled to Iran was the state’s first case of the coronavirus, and told reporters “out of an abundance of caution, we will be contacting the people who were on the flight with her from Iran to New York” and also the driver of the car service that took her home.

Cuomo told reporters on Tuesday (March 2) that the woman is in quarantine and her husband, who is also a healthcare worker, is being tested.

Cuomo confirmed New York's first coronavirus case on Twitter Sunday evening, calling on residents to remain calm and not have any "undue anxiety." The number of coronavirus cases in the United States has ticked up in recent days, with more than 75 confirmed cases including two reported deaths, both in Washington state where a cluster of cases is centered on a nursing home near Seattle.

Florida, among other U.S. states, have also confirmed cases.

There have been more than 87,000 cases globally and nearly 3,000 deaths in 60 countries, according to the World Health Organization.

The global death toll was up to 3,044, according to a Reuters tally.