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Rochester, N.Y. - A patient complaining of a respiratory illness at Rochester General Hospital is being treated as potentially suffering from infection with the novel coronavirus.

Testing is underway to determine whether the patient suffers from COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus, or from some other illness, according to a spokesman for Rochester Regional Health, which operates the hospital on Portland Avenue.

a car parked in front of a building: B. Thomas Golisano Pavilion & Emergency Department at Rochester General Hospital in Rochester on March 3, 2020. © Tina MacIntyre-Yee/ Rochester Democrat and Chronicle B. Thomas Golisano Pavilion & Emergency Department at Rochester General Hospital in Rochester on March 3, 2020.

The patient apparently is the first in the Rochester area to be tested for the disease. If laboratory analysis shows the patient has COVID-19, it would be the first confirmed case in upstate New York.

The disease, which emerged in China late last year, has infected more than 95,000 people in 86 other nations. Of that number, 3,250 people have died.

It was first detected in New York state residents when testing began here last weekend.

The local patient arrived at Rochester General’s emergency department Wednesday morning with "symptoms consistent with COVID-19," according to an email the RRH sent to employees later in the day.

He or she was placed in an isolation area in the hospital to prevent the spread of any infectious agents.

A sample was collected from the patient for coronavirus testing and immediately sent off for testing, RRH spokesman Derek DeSol said.

"We'll know more in 48 hours," he told a reporter.

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The only location in New York state where testing for the new coronavirus is being done is the state's Wadsworth Center laboratory in Albany. Labs analyze samples that typically are collected by swabbing the nose or throat or gathering sputum in a cup.

DeSol declined to say anything more about the patient, including his or her condition or whether the person had traveled to an area where coronavirus is rampant.

Dr. Michael Mendoza, Monroe County's public health commissioner, said at a media briefing Wednesday evening that he did not know details of the patient's case. Asked how sick the person was, he said, "Ill enough for somebody to consider coronavirus testing."

B. Chip Partner, a spokesman for the University of Rochester Medical Center, said no samples from patients at Strong Memorial Hospital have been sent to the Albany lab for analysis.

Mendoza also said no one other patients were being tested.

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Eleven cases in Westchester County and Manhattan have been confirmed so far, and many more are in voluntary quarantine awaiting test results. Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Wednesday that results had come back negative on six people in Buffalo.

Some of those who are exposed to the virus develop no symptoms, while most others suffer fever, aches and a cough. About 20 percent of cases develop more serious health problems, according to a study in China, and roughly 2% die.

The virus is spread when an infected person coughs or sneezes in close proximity to someone else, or when the person passes the germs through touch.

Contact watchdog reporter Steve Orr at sorr@democratandchronicle.com or at (585) 258-2386. Follow him on Twitter at @SOrr1. This coverage is only possible with support from our readers. If you don't already have a digital subscription, please sign up today.

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Rochester General patient tested for coronavirus and put in isolation

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