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James Cai is a 32-year-old New Jersey physician assistant who has spoken out in an interview about his struggle with coronavirus. He was the first person to be diagnosed in New Jersey with COVID-19 coronavirus and has said that his condition is getting steadily worse.
The interview was posted by Bill Pulte, who has described himself on Twitter as a “Twitter philanthropist.” He said he heard about Cai’s situation after Cai’s brother reached out to him for help. The video has over 449,000 views:
Here’s what you need to know about James Cai:
1. Cai Said His Condition Has Worsened Significantly in the Past Week
In the interview with Pulte, James Cai says he’s been in isolation at Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey for the past week and that “it’s been hell.” He said that to start with, they were just treating him as though he had the “normal flu.” He added that “they say I’m young and I’m not going to die, but they don’t know the truth about corona[virus].”
He also said that he had not received very professional medical treatment and that they were not up to date on the coronavirus. He said nurses are afraid to approach him and when they come in the room, he has to look at the wall and avoid looking at them.
During the interview, he was getting short of breath a few times, and said that he was having trouble breathing and would most likely need to be placed on a ventilator soon. He said “I don’t know how many days I can last.”
2. He Says He Is a Non-Smoker With no Underlying Health Conditions
In the portion of the video before and after speaking with James Cai, and in Pulte’s summary of the situation, he mentioned that James Cai has no preexisting health conditions and is a non-smoker, in addition to being young, only 32 years old.
James Cai said on the video call that his brother, who is also a medical professional, believes there are two strains of coronavirus, and one is a “deadly one.” He added “maybe I’m the unlucky one to get the deadly one.” The two strains theory has been proposed by Chinese researchers, who argue that there is one strain that is more transmissible or more aggressive, or both. However, other researchers have warned about these conclusions and say they are unfounded, the LA Times reported.
Another case of coronavirus made the headlines on Tuesday, March 10. A young patient in their 30s, with no underlying health problems, was hospitalized on Monday and is in critical condition. This person sought medical care on March 3 but was not tested, and returned on March 9 and was admitted and tested positive, media reported.
3. He Says He Believes He Contracted it in New York City at a Medical Conference
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James Cai
Cai has also said that he thinks he contracted the virus in New York City a week ago, when he attended a medical conference at a hotel in Times Square. He said that after contracting it, the virus spread quickly to his lungs, and he has been suffering terrible symptoms since then: “Dirarrhea, watery eyes, shortness of breath, chest pain, you name it. High fever. Every day is getting worse. It happened so quick.”
In his Twitter video interview, Cai said he has two main desires in publicizing his story. He hopes that he is able to get access to certain drugs that have been used in China and elsewhere, but that have not yet been made available to him. He also hopes that he can be transferred to the Mount Sinai main campus in New York City, where his brother works and he believes he can get more adequate care.
4. He Has a Wife & a 9-Month-Old Daughter
James Cai is married and has a young daughter. He said he is also worried about his 90-year-old grandparents. He said his family is also all in isolation, though it’s unclear if they’re in the same hospital as Cai.
He also has a brother, who communicated with Pulte about the interview and who originally reached out to increase public awareness of Cai’s case. His brother is also a medical professional, who works at the Mount Sinai main campus in New York City.
5. He Is a Physician Assistant From New York
James Cai is a physician assistant and shared in the interview that his boss is a physician and helped translate some medical studies done in China to English for the staff at the hospital. He is of Chinese descent and lives in New York. James Cai also spoke with CBS, and told them he lives and works in Manhattan and Fort Lee. He said he went to urgent care first then the ER at Hackensack University Medical Center, and has been there since March 3.
New Jersey declared a state of emergency on Monday night after going from 11 confirmed cases of coronavirus to 17. Governor Phil Murphy said: “Right now, the overall risk to individuals from the coronavirus remains low, but we are taking this step out of an abundance or precaution and prudence.” He continued, saying the state of emergency “responsibly removes bureaucratic barriers to make sure we have the resources and supplies our front line public health and safety professionals need to do their jobs.”
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