Coronavirus in New Jersey: Patient at Bayshore Medical Center does not have it

HOLMDEL - A patient at Bayshore Medical Center who was suspected of being infected with the coronavirus does not have the illness, the New Jersey Department of Health announced Saturday night.

There are no other persons in New Jersey who are currently approved and awaiting testing for the virus that causes COVID-19, according to a prepared statement from the department.

“Most New Jersey residents are at low risk for novel coronavirus,” said state Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli. “If individuals are having symptoms, the illness is much more likely to be caused by common respiratory viruses such as flu or the common cold.”

The patient had been isolated at the hospital and had undergone tests by the New Jersey Public Health Environmental Laboratories, officials said.

A spokeswoman for Hackensack Meridian Health, the healthcare network that runs Bayshore Medical Center, said Sunday morning that the patient's condition was "improving."

No other information has been provided about the identity of the patient at Bayshore or the circumstances that led health professionals to suspect that the person was possibly infected with the virus.

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CBS News in New York was the first to report the suspected case of the virus at Bayshore, just before midnight Friday.

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This is a breaking news story. Stay with app.com for updates.

Joshua Chung: 732-557-5748 or jchung@gannettnj.com

Erik Larsen: 732-682-9359 or elarsen@gannettnj.com