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WE'RE FOLLOWING UP ON BREAKING NEWS OUT OF VERMONT... THE STATE - ANNOUNCING ITS FIRST PRESUMPTIVE CASE OF THE CORONA-VIRUS.. THE VICTIM IS CURRENTLY BEING HOSPITALIZED IN AN AIRBORNE INFECTION ISOLATION ROOM. THE SPECIFIC LOCATION HAS NOT BEEN NAMED. OFFICIALS ARE AWAITING CONFIRMATION FROM THE C-D-C. WHILE THEY WAIT.. THEY'LL BE LOOKING INTO THE PATIENT'S TRAVEL HISTORY.. AND WHO THEY HAVE COME IN CONTACT WITH.. ALSO IN GRAFTON COUNTY NEW HAMPSHIRE.. TWO NEW PRESUMPTIVE CASES OF THE VIRUS HAVE BEEN CONFIRMED.. ONE PATIENT CAME INTO CONTACT WITH THE VIRUS WHILE AT A CHURCH SERVICE IN WEST LEBANON LAST

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Vermont health officials Saturday announced the state's first presumptive positive case of COVID-19, a disease caused by the novel coronavirus. According to a statement from the Vermont Department of Health, an unidentified adult patient has been placed in a hospital's airborne isolation room. The state has not announced where in Vermont that patient is being held nor where they were before being hospitalized. State health officials are investigating the patient's possible exposure and travel history. Anyone who may have been exposed will receive recommendations for self-isolation and other restrictions. "Our first thoughts are with this patient and for their recovery," Vermont Health Commissioner Mark Levine said. "While we had hoped the virus would not come to Vermont, we have been preparing for this eventuality." While the VDH has administered its own tests, the case will be considered a presumptive positive until those results are confirmed by officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The patient listed by state officials on Saturday is not the first to be tested — 28 other Vermonters have tested negative for the disease after undergoing testing with the VDH, including some who were monitored after returning from China in February. 224 people in the Green Mountain State are currently being monitored for symptoms related to COVID-19. Gov. Phil Scott and state health officials are scheduled to hold a press conference at 11 a.m. Sunday to discuss details surrounding the case. A live stream of that press conference can be found on the NBC5 Facebook page. In a press conference Thursday, Levine said local health networks are prepared to see more cases of the disease and have the necessary supplies to manage them if necessary. "This new coronavirus can be serious and even deadly," Levine said. "But the state is mobilized to protect the health of Vermonters and we are prepared for the likelihood of more cases."For now, state health officials are urging residents to practice good hygiene as the disease continues to spread. This includes avoiding contact with your face, disinfecting common spaces and washing your hands for at least 20 seconds. According to the CDC, there have been hundreds of confirmed cases of the virus in the United States, and 19 people have died. Worldwide, there have been more than 102,000 confirmed cases and more than 3,400 deaths; mostly in China, where the outbreak began.