NJ Coronavirus Patient is ‘Getting Worse’ Despite Being in Good Health Before Infection

Last Updated on March 17, 2020

James Cai, 32-year-old physician’s assistant working in New Jersey was the first confirmed case of coronavirus in the entire Garden state. In a statement provided to CBS, Cai delivers a warning; He has only gotten worse since his positive COVID-19 test, and we are not being told about all the possible underlying conditions that happen when you get coronavirus.

After checking into an Urgent Care, Cai was sent to the emergency room at Hackensack University Medical Center, and has been in the ER since Tuesday. Cai self-reports his experience with developing several unreported underlying conditions of the coronavirus.

Cai told CBS he strongly disagrees with health officials who say face masks are not necessary. Cai is against advice that face masks are unnecessary. “A lot of people say, ‘It’s OK, don’t wear masks,” says Cai. “I don’t believe that.”

“It happened so quick,” Cai says.

“The virus is everything. Diarrhea, watery eyes, shortness of breath, chest pain, you name it. High fever. … Every day is getting worse. People have to take the coronavirus seriously. It’s very serious,” Cai told CBS.

New Jersey Governor, Phil Murphy, announced the first case of confirmed coronavirus on Wednesday. “We take this situation very seriously and have been preparing for this for weeks,” says Governor Murphy.

Cai visited a Westin hotel in Midtown, Manhattan, and the King David nursing and rehabilitation facility in Brooklyn prior to contracting the virus. The staff of the King David identified Cai to the New York Post after suspicions were circulating as to where he contracted coronavirus.  There were 11 confirmed cases of Wuhan virus at the time of his visit to the rehab and nursing facility.

Since Cai became the first confirmed case of coronavirus in New Jersey, five new cases have been confirmed in the state. There are no confirmed deaths in the state of New Jersey, yet in the U.S. death tolls have hit 68. There are 3,487 total confirmed cases in the United States as of the time of this publication, but experts believe the actual number is significantly higher.