New York Post - 13.03.2020

New York Post, Friday, March 13, 2020

nypost.com

outbreak

The New Jersey man who

was the state’s first corona­-

virus case says he’s on the

mend — and that he would

be “dead and gone”

had he not reached

out to doctors in

China on how to

­defeat the bug.

James Cai, a 32-

year-old physician’s

assistant, remained

hospitalized Thurs-

day at Hackensack Univer-

sity Medical Center, where

he’s now only experiencing a

cough and fatigue after 11

days of battling the virus.

“Fortunately I have the re-

sources and knowledge

about it. I would be dead and

gone already,” Cai (inset) told

The Post in a text message.

He credited several Chi-

nese doctors with helping his

providers here better under-

stand the infectious disease

taking over his body.

“Most medical providers

here don’t know about

it,” Cai said. “Medical

providers need to com-

municate with Chinese

medical teams.”

They recommended

he be treated with the

antimalarial medicine

chloroquine and the

HIV drug Kaletra.

“Chinese experts suggest

to treat with medicine to

slow the virus first. Don’t

wait,” he said. “Definitely I

would not be here today

[without them].”

Cai said that since he was

otherwise healthy, he fears

how those who are older will

fare fighting the virus.

Jackie Salo

NJ vic: I’d be dead

without China docs

World Roundup

Getting

tested will

put you to

the test

By Carl Campanile

and Vincent Barone

Want to get tested for the

corona­virus? Good luck.

Tests are being done at New

York’s public and private hospitals,

as well as some doctors’ offices

and urgent-cares — but the state is

authorizing them only for those

considered to be at high risk due to

extremely limited capacity.

“The person who just wants, out

of an abundance of caution, to get

a coronavirus test, we don’t have

that kind of capacity for,” Mayor

de Blasio said Thursday.

Health officials are advising peo-

ple who feel sick to first see their

personal doctor. Only those with

difficulty breathing should seek

immediate care, the state says.

But even then, you may not be

tested for the virus itself.

The baseline criteria for testing

includes displaying symptoms of

fever and cough, or fever and

shortness of breath, said Mitchell

Katz, president and CEO of NYC

Health + Hospitals.

“We’re testing them first to see if

they have a flu or influenza or

some other explanation,” he said.

In the peak cold and flu season,

doctors and health-care workers

have been inundated with anxiety-

riddled patients seeking a test —

since the symptoms of the corona-

virus are similar to those more

common illnesses, according to a

spokesman for the Northwell

Health network.

“If someone in their 30s comes

in with mild symptoms, we ask

them to recuperate at home,” said

rep Terry Lynam.

Health-care workers are being

advised to prioritize actual coro-

navirus tests for people who are

exhibiting symptoms of the virus

and are elderly, have compromised

immune systems or have recently

returned from global hot spots,

de Blasio said.

State guidelines also say priority

should be given to people who

have had close contact with some-

one who has tested positive — like

sharing a classroom or office —

and patients who are symptomatic

and have not tested positive for

any other infection.

And those who do score one of

the coveted tests should not ex-

pect automatic results — tests are

taking three or four days to come

back, according to city officials.

Gov. Cuomo said Thursday the

state had an “abundance” of test-

ing kits — but not enough capacity

at labs to process them.

“The laboratory has to have the

capacity to then perform the tests

— that is where we have issues,”

Cuomo said.

But state Health Commissioner

Dr. Oxiris Barbot said that is

changing — public and commer-

cial labs will soon be able to pro-

cess thousands of tests per day.

She and the mayor say they also

are pushing for the federal Centers

for Disease Control and Preven-

tion to automate test results and

speed up the process.

Due to shortages of kits, the lack

of testing has been a nationwide

problem.

CDC Director Dr. Robert Red-

field told lawmakers that under­-

investment in public health labs

means “there’s not enough equip-

ment, there’s not enough people,

there’s not enough internal capac-

ity, there’s no surge capacity.”

[email protected]

n EGYPT: A 35-year-old man from New York is

stranded in a remote Egyptian quarantine hospital

with the coronavirus. Matt Swider, an editor at Tech­-

Radar, said he was traveling on a Nile cruise when he

was confirmed to have the virus last Saturday.

n AUSTRALIA: The country announced a $17.6 bil-

lion package to stave off a coronavirus-triggered re-

cession — which will include giving cash handouts

to more than a quarter of the population. The one-

time payments — about $475 in US dollars — will go

to pensioners, carers, veterans, families, young peo-

ple and job seekers.

n CANADA: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said

Thursday he’s joining his wife, Sophie Grégoire Tru-

deau, in isolation as they await the results of a

corona­virus test she received after falling ill late

Wednesday upon returning from London.

n UK: A 13-year-old British boy was suspended from

school this week for hawking “squirts” of hand sani-

tizer to his classmates to protect them from con-

tracting the coronavirus. Oliver Cooper bought a tub

of Johnson’s child hand wash from a grocery store

for about $2 and was selling squirts to other

­children for about 65 cents apiece.

n ICE CREAM: Ben & Jerry’s has postponed its popu-

lar annual Free Cone Day, as local governments

across the nation have implemented restrictions on

large public gatherings to control the coronavirus

outbreak. The event is normally held on the second

Tuesday in April.

n CRUISES: Princess Cruises — the owner of the

corona­virus-plagued ship held in quarantine in

­Japan and an infected vessel docked in California —

will suspend all trips worldwide due to the pan-

demic until May 10, the company announced on

Thursday.