A man with a face mask rides the subway in the Queens borough of New York City, February 2, 2020.
New York confirmed its first case of novel coronavirus - also known as COVID-19 - on Sunday evening.
- New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said the patient was a woman in her late thirties who contracted the virus while traveling abroad in Iran.
- Cuomo added that the woman is currently isolated in her home and that the general risk of contracting the disease in New York remains low.
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New York confirmed its first case of novel coronavirus - also known as COVID-19 - on Sunday evening.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo issued a statement on Sunday providing details on the patient.
"The patient, a woman in her late thirties, contracted the virus while traveling abroad in Iran, and is currently isolated in her home," Cuomo said.
He did not specify where the woman was located.
"The patient has respiratory symptoms, but is not in serious condition and has been in a controlled situation since arriving to New York," Cuomo said.
Cuomo said the test was confirmed by a lab in Albany, New York. He said the confirmed case should not cause undue alarm and added that the general risk of contracting the disease in New York remains low.
"There is no cause for surprise -- this was expected. As I said from the beginning, it was a matter of when, not if there would be a positive case of novel coronavirus in New York," he said.
TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images
Tourists wearing masks walk through Union Square in New York City on February 28, 2020, amid fears of the coronavirus and a global pandemic. - The World Health Organization raised its global risk assessment of the new coronavirus to its highest level after the epidemic spread to sub-Saharan Africa and caused financial markets to plunge.
"There is no reason for undue anxiety -- the general risk remains low in New York. We are diligently managing this situation and will continue to provide information as it becomes available."
The total number of cases in the US has now risen to at least 75, according to The New York Times. Cases were also reported in Washington State and Rhode Island over the weekend.
Globally, the coronavirus has infected over 88,000 people. The total number of deaths from the virus has risen to 2,912, with the majority of cases in mainland China.
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