76 Upper East Side Buildings Test Positive for Legionella as 63 Cases Hit Outbreak Zone
Updated
Updated · WABC-TV · Jul 15
76 Upper East Side Buildings Test Positive for Legionella as 63 Cases Hit Outbreak Zone
3 articles · Updated · WABC-TV · Jul 15
Summary
Seventy-six Upper East Side buildings, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, tested positive for Legionella in preliminary cooling-tower tests—more than double last week's 31 towers.
Fifty-seven sites have completed required remediation, while the remaining 19, including the Met, must finish disinfection by Thursday; officials said all 183 sampled towers now have results.
The outbreak has sickened 63 people, up three from the previous night, though hospitalizations fell to 12 from 15 and officials said new cases are slowing.
City officials stressed a positive tower test does not yet prove it caused infections, while local lawmakers argued the health department should enforce broader proactive testing and disinfection.