A resident of New York City who recently came back from a trip to Italy is being tested for COVID-19, more commonly known as the novel coronavirus, according to officials.
The city’s Department of Health says the person reported having symptoms of the virus that has killed more than 2,800 people worldwide, the Centers for Disease Control says. Symptoms of the illness include fever, coughing and shortness of breath — not dissimilar to other illnesses.
Symptoms are likely to appear as soon as two days after exposure, or up to two weeks later, according to the CDC.
So far in the tri-state, there have been no confirmed cases of the illness that has now been found on every continent except Antarctica. NYC Health Commissioner Oxiris Barbot says that due to the federal government expanding its criteria for virus testing to include Iran, Italy, Japan and South Korea, more people are expected to be tested.
“Viruses don’t respect borders and this broader definition will help us cast a wider net to detect the virus. We expect the number of cases under investigation to grow,” Barbot said.