Westchester marks grim two year anniversary of first COVID-19 case

It's been two years since Westchester's first confirmed COVID-19 patient - New Rochelle lawyer Lawrence Garbuz.

News 12 Staff

Mar 3, 2022, 1:58 PM

Updated 1,008 days ago

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It's been two years since Westchester's first confirmed COVID-19 patient - New Rochelle lawyer Lawrence Garbuz.
Garbuz says he doesn't remember much about that fateful day on March 3, 2020. "After we entered the ER, I had no recollection of anything that transpired," he says.
Within days, New Rochelle became a containment zone with schools and houses of worship forced to close. The National Guard was sent in to hand out food to families in the city.
By April 16, 881 new cases were reported throughout the county. "Then a year after that, before the vaccine came along, we had orange zones and yellow zones imposed by the state," recalls Westchester County Executive George Latimer.
Latimer says although the past two years have been painful in more ways than one but that we've all learned a lot. His team's top priority moving forward will be encouraging vaccinations and booster shots. "That is our focus. Vaccinate as many people as we can. Make it as tough as possible for this virus to keep on going."