Governor Andrew M. Cuomo updated New Yorkers on the state’s progress during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
“We’re continuing to see promising decreases in the positivity and hospitalization rates, and these numbers show that our vaccination efforts and the disciplined behavior of New Yorkers are working to beat back this virus,” Governor Cuomo said. “Now that our numbers are back on track, we are able to begin reopening more businesses and sectors of our economy – like arts, entertainment and weddings – while continuing to monitor the infection rate to make sure we don’t lose any of the progress we’ve already made. This is all good news – but now is not the time for New Yorkers to get complacent. I encourage everyone to continue doing the things we know are effective in fighting this virus – wash your hands, wear a mask and practice social distancing.”
In Hunt for Covid-19 Origin, Patient Zero Points to Second Wuhan Market
World Health Organization investigators are seeking information about a second food market in the Chinese city of Wuhan after the first officially confirmed Covid-19 case, dubbed patient zero, told them his parents had shopped there. Chinese authorities have said since early last year that the first confirmed victim was a Wuhan resident surnamed Chen who fell sick on Dec. 8, 2019, and had no connection to the Huanan seafood market, which was tied to many of the early infections. That case, and more recent evidence, led a WHO team probing the pandemic’s origins to conclude that the virus might have first jumped from an animal to a human earlier, and elsewhere, and been spreading throughout Wuhan by the time an outbreak at the Huanan market occurred.
The putative patient zero met the WHO investigators during their recent four-week visit to Wuhan, and told them that his parents had visited another local community food market, according to three team members. The revelation came at the end of the man’s meeting with the WHO investigators and they were unable to identify the market or obtain further details, the team members said. They declined to comment further.