Mayor De Blasio: 2 More People Test Positive For Coronavirus In NYC

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He first made the announcement on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" show, adding that the two patients are a man in his 40s and a woman in her 80s.

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"Neither patient has a connection to travel nor any of the other local individuals diagnosed with COVID-19," he said in a statement.

Both patients are hospitalized in the intensive care unit.

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City disease detectives are tracing close contacts of both individuals and will ensure they are appropriately isolated and tested immediately, the mayor said.

"We are going to see more cases like this as community transmission becomes more common," de Blasio said. "We want New Yorkers to be prepared and vigilant, not alarmed. We are taking the same decisive steps in every case to shut transmission down: isolate and test each suspected case, trace close contacts, and isolate and test them as well."

There are two new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in New York City. One new patient is a man in his 40s, and one new patient is a woman in her 80s.

Neither patient has a connection to travel nor any of the other local individuals diagnosed with COVID-19.

-- Mayor Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) March 5, 2020

De Blasio said the new cases heighten the need for the CDC to increase the city's supply of COVID-19 test kits and approve any testing methods developed by private companies.

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"Our single greatest challenge is the lack of fast federal action to increase testing capacity--without that, we cannot beat this epidemic back," de Blasio said.

Both are currently hospitalized and in the intensive care unit.

City disease detectives are tracing close contacts of both individuals and will ensure they are appropriately isolated and tested immediately.

-- Mayor Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) March 5, 2020

A 39-year-old health care worker who contracted the virus while working in Iran has been in isolation in her Manhattan home. Her husband tested negative for the virus.

The total number of cases across the state climbed to 24 after Westchester County reported new cases on Thursday.

Across the country there are more than 120 cases in at least 15 states, with 11 deaths -- 10 of them in Washington state.

Worldwide there have been 94,000 infections and 3,200 deaths since the virus first surfaced in China in late December.

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