ALBANY – Nine more Westchester County residents tested positive Wednesday for the coronavirus disease, a day after a 50-year-old New Rochelle man became the first known person in New York to contract the virus through community spread.

The new cases were the latest sign the virus at the center of a global outbreak is spreading in New York, as state and local officials had warned would happen for weeks.

All nine who tested positive Wednesday had a connection to the original Westchester patient, including his wife and two children, who remain quarantined in their home, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Wednesday.

Among the others to have confirmed coronavirus cases were a neighbor who drove the man to a Bronxville hospital Thursday, a friend who was in close contact with him, the friend's wife and three of their children — all from New Rochelle.

New York now has 11 confirmed cases statewide, including a health care worker from Manhattan who had recently returned from Iran, a coronavirus hotspot.

State health officials warn more cases are likely to come: The first New Rochelle patient and his family attended services and gatherings at the city's Young Israel synagogue the weekend of Feb. 22.

As a result, about 1,000 people in attendance remain quarantined in their homes through at least Sunday, a directive handed down Tuesday by the state and county.

"You see how quickly you touch hundreds of people," Cuomo said Wednesday of how fast the coronavirus could spread.

"It is going to be dozens and dozens and dozens," he continued.

First New Rochelle patient in stable condition

The initial New Rochelle man, who has an underlying respiratory illness exacerbating the disease's symptoms, remains in stable condition in the intensive care unit of NewYork-Presbyterian Columbia University Irving Medical Center in Manhattan, state Health Commissioner Howard Zucker said.

The man's wife, 20-year-old son and 14-year-old daughter were tested after the father became ill. All tested positive, as did the neighbor who drove the man to the NewYork-Presbyterian Lawrence Hospital in Bronxville, where he was initially treated.

The other family got it after their father spent time with the man, who is a close friend, Cuomo said.

Cuomo on Wednesday said about 1,000 people in Westchester have been asked or ordered to quarantine, most of them congregants at the Young Israel synagogue.

It marked the first time the state estimated the total number under quarantine.

"We are, if anything, being over-cautious," Cuomo said at a press briefing in White Plains. "Remember, even when you get infected with this virus, 80% won’t even know and they’ll self-resolve.”

More:An upstate NY couple spent four weeks in a coronavirus quarantine. Here's what they did next.

Leaders call for calm amid coronavirus spread

Cuomo urged New York residents to remain calm, noting more positive results are likely as the state boosts its testing for the coronavirus disease.

The New Rochelle man had not recently traveled to countries known as coronavirus hotspots, raising concern that the virus was spreading through the local community.

That type of "community spread" was long anticipated by the state, which has advised people to be judicious in washing their hands but has warned against panicking.

The symptoms for coronavirus are similar to any respiratory illness, and most who contract it don't require hospitalization. But it can be particularly dangerous for senior citizens and those with existing respiratory illnesses or compromised immune systems, Cuomo said.

At the White Plains briefing, Westchester County Executive George Latimer echoed Cuomo's call for calm.

“There is the spread of a contagious virus, but there is also a spread of misinformation and fear," Latimer said. "We do ourselves an injustice by letting speculation outpace facts from medical professionals.”

More:Coronavirus in New York: State officials may wrestle with expanding quarantines as cases spread

University, school cancel classes

The New Rochelle man practices law in Manhattan for the firm of Lewis and Garbuz P.C., according to the New York City Health Department. His wife works for the firm as well and has not shown any symptoms despite testing positive, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said.

Their son, who did show symptoms but is feeling better, attends Yeshiva University in Manhattan and lives on campus. The university cancelled classes at its main campus as a precaution Wednesday; Cuomo said the school would cancel classes Thursday and Friday, too, before making further decisions.

The student had not been on campus since Thursday, according to the university.

The man's daughter attends SAR Academy and High School, a Jewish day school in the Bronx. The school canceled classes Tuesday and Wednesday and will remain closed through the Jewish holiday of Purim, which runs through Tuesday.

The children from the second family attend the Westchester Torah Academy in White Plains, Cuomo said.

The school will remained closed through Friday, according to the governor.

More:SUNY, CUNY students being returned from abroad over coronavirus. Here’s how NY will do it.

New York ramps up coronavirus testing

The state has ramped up testing to see how much further the coronavirus spread in Westchester.

Eight employees of NewYork-Presbyterian Lawrence Hospital in Bronxville are being tested. The New Rochelle man was initially admitted to the hospital there Thursday before he was transferred Monday to Columbia.

The neighbor's children are also being tested, Cuomo said. Five employees at the Manhattan law firm are al being tested, according to de Blasio.

The affected Young Israel congregants, meanwhile, will remain under self-quarantine until at least Sunday, meaning they're being directed to remain in their home to try to stop the potential spread of the virus and disease.

Westchester County issued the order Tuesday at the direction of state Health Department officials, according to the county. It applies to anyone who attended Young Israel services on Feb. 22 or a funeral or bat mitzvah there Feb. 23.

The synagogue will remain closed through at least Sunday.

Young Israel Rabbi Rueven Fink issued an email to congregants late Tuesday, noting it was an "emotionally trying time for all of us." The synagogue would follow the state and county's directive, he wrote.

"When we first heard of the Coronavirus it seemed so remote," Fink wrote. "It has now come not only to our doorstep, but has pierced our lives."

More:Coronavirus in New York: Hundreds to be quarantined amid confirmed Westchester case

Some coronavirus tests come up negative

Other tests for suspected coronavirus cases throughout the state turned up negative, Cuomo said.

The husband of the Manhattan health care worker who was the state's first confirmed case does not have coronavirus, according to the governor. The health care worker remains quarantined in her home.

Two families in the Buffalo area who had recently returned from Italy did not test positive for coronavirus, nor did a family in Oneida County that was also tested.

The Democratic governor said the anxiety surrounding coronavirus in New York has "outpaced the reality of the situation."

He compared the situation to the "flu on steroids," repeatedly stressing that many will contract the virus and never suffer from any serious symptoms.

“If you went out today and tested for the normal flu, you would find thousands of people who test positive," Cuomo said. "We have (1,500) people in the hospital today with the flu. Perspective and context is important here.”

Jon Campbell is a New York state government reporter for the USA TODAY Network. He can be reached at JCAMPBELL1@Gannett.com or on Twitter at @JonCampbellGAN.

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