Seneca County has lost its claim to being the only county in New York without a recorded coronavirus case.

The Seneca County Health Department reported Monday that a county resident has tested positive for COVID-19, the sometimes deadly respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus.

Until Monday, the county was the only one of New York’s 62 counties to not record a coronavirus case. Sandwiched between Seneca and Cayuga lakes, the Upstate New York county is very rural, with a population of about 35,000.

The health department said the individual is being isolated and monitored. Health department staff is identifying anyone who has had close contact with the individual, it said. They will be notified and will be quarantined and monitored for symptoms, it said.

“We have anticipated and planned for our first positive case of COVID-19,” Vickie Swinehart, the county’s public health director said in a statement. “This was not unexpected as every other county across the state has reported positive cases to date.”

She said it was “imperative” that all residents practice social distancing to help slow the spread of the virus and "only go out if absolutely necessary.”

“A positive case does not mean we should panic, but it is the time to stay home, to be vigilant of the signs and symptoms of COVID-19, to wash your hands frequently and to disinfect frequently touched surfaces,” she said.

Symptoms of COVID-19 include cough, fever and shortness of breath.

Seneca County health officials had previously reported a person from out of the area tested positive on March 22 and is completing mandatory isolation in Seneca County. The county was not counting that as a Seneca County case because the person did not live in the county.

The number of cases confirmed in other counties has been a factor of the number of people tested. Seneca County reported Monday 75 people have been tested, according to the county’s website.

Statewide, 66,497 people have tested positive for the coronavirus and 1,218 people have died from it.

For county-by-county breakdown and more data on the coronavirus in New York state go to our coronavirus data page.

Click on any county below for details on the number of cases and deaths from the coronavirus.

Rick Moriarty covers business news and consumer issues. Got a tip, comment or story idea? Contact him anytime: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 315-470-3148