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The New York State Health Department issued a notice on Friday warning that an Australian tourist confirmed to have measles visited locations in Manhattan and Brooklyn earlier this month, potentially exposing New Yorkers to the virus.
The visitor from down under stayed at the La Quinta Inn at 31 W 71st St from February 16–19, and was a part of Oasis Bible Tour groups at the Metropolitan Museum of Art during that stretch. The tourist also stayed at the Best Western Hotel at 1324 Atlantic Ave in Brooklyn on the night of February 19, and was eventually admitted to the Orange Regional Medical Center’s emergency department in Middletown, New York on February 21.
According to the Health Department, the virus remains alive in the air and on surfaces for up to two hours after infected individuals leave the area. While the risk of contracting the disease is very low for people who have been immunized, if you happened to find yourself galavanting around the Met on February 16 or 17, it’d behoove you to keep an eye out for symptoms like a fever, rash, runny nose or pink eye.
Patients typically become symptomatic from measles 10 to 12 days after exposure, so if you were to have caught the virus from the Australian in question, you'd start seeing symptoms early this week.
The full list of locations that the tourist reportedly visited can be found at the Health Department’s website.