Coronavirus test results were negative for the suspected patient at Guthrie Cortland Medical Center, announced the County Health Department this afternoon.
The Cortland County resident was not sickened by the COVID-19 virus and no other persons were tested in the area as of this afternoon, the department noted in a Facebook post at 2:04 p.m.
SUNY Cortland also allayed student fears this afternoon, noting there has not been any suspected cases on campus and the college does not plan to move classes online at this time.
Rumours abounded after SUNY students taking courses in Italy, Japan and South Korea were recalled and placed in quarantine, including 22 now housed in SUNY Stonybrook’s Southampton campus. The 14-day quarantine is a preventative measure, Stonybrook announced in a Sunday news release.
SUNY Cortland is preparing for many different possible scenarios, and discussions of the planning may have led to the false rumours about suspending in-person classes, said Fred Pierce, the public relations director for the college.
“We’re looking at everything,” Pierce said, “but as of now there’s no movement to do that.”
SUNY Cortland is following the guidance of SUNY administrators, the state Health Department and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Pierce said.
“We are making ‘what if’ situations,” Pierce said, “but these are all ‘what if’s’ right now.”
