New York's Port Authority executive director tested positive for coronavirus

Rick Cotton.
(Image credit: Scott Heins/Getty Images)

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) announced Monday that the state's Port Authority Executive Director Rick Cotton has tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

Cuomo didn't divulge too much information, but he did say Cotton was "working at home" while he's under quarantine. Because of his job, Cotton was at the region's airports in recent weeks as many people with the virus returned to the New York area. Cotton's senior team will also be tested, which means several of them could also wind up being quarantined. In total, New York now has 142 confirmed cases, making it the state with the most confirmed infections in the country.

Meanwhile, in Washington D.C., Rev. Timothy Cole, the rector of Christ Church in Georgetown also tested positive for COVID-19. He reportedly offered communion to and shook hands with more than 500 parishioners last week and on Feb. 24, which prompted the church to cancel Masses for the first time since the 1800s. All worshippers reportedly must self-quarantine.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Cole released a statement Monday and said he'll remain in quarantine for 14 days but is in "good spirits." Tim O'Donnell

Explore More
Tim O'Donnell

Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.