An Orange County resident has tested positive for COVID-19, making them the first confirmed case in the county. 

The patient is in Montefiore St. Luke’s Cornwall Hospital in isolation, officials say. County officials would not offer details about the current condition, age, gender or town the patient resides in. They said that the patient’s medical provider would determine who the patient had been in contact with. The Orange County Health Department will notify those people of potential exposure and verify if they have any coronavirus symptoms and should be tested. 

Montefiore St. Luke’s Hospital says 26 of its workers have been furloughed after possible exposure to the first Orange County resident to test positive for coronavirus. Officials would not explain what could have been done differently to prevent so many hospital workers from being absent during a pandemic. They also did not specify what would be done moving forward to prevent more health care workers from going into quarantine, which lasts two weeks. 

During a conference call Thursday, Orange County Health Commissioner Irina Gelman encouraged people with fever, cough, shortness of breath or other signs of illness to contact their doctor before going to their office. 

Orangecountygov.com added that residents should regularly check the CDC’s Novel Coronavirus webpage or the New York State Department of Health webpage for updates. Also, New Yorkers can call a hotline at 1-888-364-3065 where NYS Department of Health will be able to answer questions about the Novel Coronavirus.