The Suffolk County Health Department confirmed that a 70-year-old East Hampton Village man had tested positive for COVID-19 and is now under quarantine, Mayor Richard Lawler announced Monday afternoon. It was the second confirmed case in East Hampton Town. "These cases appear to be community spread and not due to travel," said Mr. Lawler.
The first was a woman in her late 70s.
Also Monday, Robert Hauser, the superintendent of the Bridgehampton School District confirmed that an employee's spouse, who works for another school district, had tested positive for the virus. Both are under mandatory quarantine and the Bridgehampton employee is asymptomatic, he said. "They are both being monitored on a daily basis by the County Health Department," Mr. Hauser said. "The Health Department then advised me that based on their interview and their diagnosis, our school is safe. We did do a thorough cleaning on Friday night."
Earlier in the day, Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone said in press briefing by phone that 74 county residents had tested positive for the virus, including the deputy county executive, Peter Scully. Mr. Scully is "doing well" and is in home isolation. Mr. Bellone was not in close contact with him, but is now directing the county's response from his home office "out of an abundance of caution." The county health commissioner, Dr. Gregson Pigott, is under mandatory quarantine.
Two county residents have died from the virus: a man in his 80s who was in isolation at St. Catherine of Siena Medical Center in Smithtown and a man in his 90s who was in isolation at Huntington Hospital. Mr. Bellone said that all of Suffolk's cases "involve community transmission," and at least 20 of them are in Southold Town.
"The work we are doing now and across the state and county is all about reducing the damage and death toll from this virus," he said. "We are doing everything we can to contain the spread of the virus."
Southampton Town on Monday joined its neighboring municipalities -- East Hampton Town, Sag Harbor Village, and East Hampton Village among them -- in declaring a state of emergency. Most town offices are closed and though elected officials and department leaders will continue to conduct their business, the public will only have access through SEA-TV, public access channel 22. The adult day care program has been suspended and senior citizens centers are closed, but food delivery will continue for those who are taking part in the senior nutrition program. Waste transfer stations and the parks will continue to be open.
"We are taking this public health crisis seriously and doing our part to reduce social interactions while maintaining important governmental services," Southampton Town Supervisor Jay Schneiderman said in a statement. "We want to protect vulnerable individuals and allow our healthcare system time to catch up with the growing need for testing and treatment."
With Reporting by Carissa Katz and Jamie Bufalino