Five new coronavirus cases have been identified in the US state of New York, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 11, while more than a hundred people statewide are under voluntary quarantine, Governor Andrew Cuomo said in a press briefing.
On Tuesday, New York recorded its second case of the novel coronavirus in a 50-year-old patient from Westchester, who works in a law firm in Midtown Manhattan. The first case was confirmed on March 1, in a woman who contracted the virus while travelling to Iran.
"There was another person who was being tested, who came in contact with the 50-year-old lawyer. A friend of the lawyer's who spent time with and in close proximity in a number of situations. That person also tested positive," Cuomo said on Wednesday.
"We then tested that person's wife, two sons, and daughter. They all tested positive," he added.
The lawyer's wife, son, daughter and a neighbour in Westchester also tested positive for the virus.
According to Cuomo, statewide, more than a hundred individuals are currently under self-isolation, and the number of infected people will 'inevitably' continue to increase exponentially.
The governor suggested that individuals who have travelled to an affected area or have been in close contact with an infected person should try to limit the spread and self-isolate.
Meanwhile, state authorities aim to increase the number of coronavirus testing from about 30 to 1,000 per day.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 129 coronavirus cases in the United States, with 11 confirmed deaths.
More than 94,000 people worldwide have been infected with the novel strain of the coronavirus, the vast majority of them in China where the outbreak originated. More than 3,200 people have died, but 51,000 have recovered after being treated.
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