Man with coronavirus gives quarantine update from Center Moriches home

A man who tested positive for the coronavirus told News 12 that the community is helping him cope while he and his family quarantine.

News 12 Staff

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Mar 17, 2020, 9:21 PM

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Updated 1,739 days ago

A man who tested positive for the coronavirus told News 12 that the community is helping him cope while he and his family quarantine.

"I got tested on March 9, been under quarantine since March 9, got my results back on Friday the 13th of all days," said Christopher Yackel, of Center Moriches.

During a Skype interview, Yackel said he had night sweats and achiness before being tested. He thought he just had a bad cold.

MORE: LIVE BLOG - Coronavirus updates from the tri-state area and beyond

Now, he’s quarantined at home with his wife Roseanne, and two other family members, including a young child. He’s the only one in the home that has tested positive.

The medical device salesman believes he caught the virus while at a conference at the Westin Times Square. He was there from Feb. 27-March 1.

"My territory manager found an article where an attendee of that meeting testing positive for coronavirus and was hospitalized at Hackensack University Medical Center," said Yackel.

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He said once his neighbors learned he and his family were under quarantine, they started leaving food on the front porch.

"The community has come together too,” he said. “It's been amazing."

Tom Collins, a neighbor, says that’s just the way Center Moriches is.

"When you do something nice for somebody, you do it because the reward is yours...If it helps them, that's a bonus," said Collins.

Yackel’s doctor said once the two-week quarantine is over, he has to test negative twice in 24 hours to be free from quarantine.

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