New Jersey has recorded its first death from the 2019 novel coronavirus, Gov. Phil Murphy said on Tuesday. “We are sad to report the first death in a case of COVID-19 in New Jersey,” he said in a statement. “Our prayers are with the family during this difficult time. We remain vigilant to doing all we can—across all levels of government—to protect the people of New Jersey.” The deceased person was a 69-year-old man, from Bergen County, who had traveled back and forth between New Jersey and New York, and had worked in New York, Department of Health Commissioner Judith M. Persichilli said. He had a history of diabetes, hypertension, gastro-intestinal bleeding and emphysema, officials said. He came down with a fever and cough that he treated with antibiotics and tamiflu but, when his condition didn’t improve, he was admitted to Hackensack University Medical Center on March 6. He eventually suffered two cardiac arrests and died Tuesday morning.
In neighboring New York, the suburb of New Rochelle has been placed on lockdown after it was deemed to be a hotbed for the virus. Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced a one mile radius “containment area” in the city on Tuesday. “It is a dramatic action, but it is the largest cluster in the country, and this is literally a matter of life and death,” he said, according to CBS New York. As of Tuesday, there were at least 761 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the U.S. and 27 deaths, according to the Associated Press.
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