New Hampshire’s first coronavirus patient shrugged off his quarantine and went to an event in a different state — potentially exposing almost 200 people to the deadly illness, officials revealed.
The dimwit Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center staffer showed symptoms of the virus after returning from a trip to Italy, and was told to stay home while awaiting test results — which came back positive Monday, state health officials said.
But three days earlier, he had ignored the instructions and gone to a party over the border in Vermont, officials said.
“Despite having been directed to self-isolate, [he] attended an invitation-only private event on Friday,” the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement.
About 175 people were at the bash, organized by Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business and held at The Engine Room in White River Junction, right across the river from the New Hampshire hospital.
“It’s very disturbing to be honest,” Brandon Fox, the owner and manager of The Engine Room told The Post. “He made a really bad decision.”
Health officials from both states said they had tracked down the attendees of Friday’s event and were monitoring some of them for symptoms, though they are “considered to be at low risk for infection.”
But the patient is believed to have already infected at least one other man — also a Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center employee, officials said. The hospital said both men had no contact with patients.
An order of isolation has now been issued to the egocentric first patient under a state public health law to make sure he doesn’t break the quarantine again.
If he leaves the lockdown now, officials will be able to send police after him to keep him put.
But New Hampshire health officials didn’t respond to questions about if or how they were monitoring his self-quarantine this time around.
Meanwhile, Fox’s event space has been sanitized — twice — and health officials said events could continue.
But he said he still decided to scrap the next three planned shindigs because fears are running rampant.
Users on the venue’s Facebook page were fuming after learning of the quarantine-breaking guest.
“What a selfish, Terrible individual to defy orders of quarantine and put everyone else at harm!!!” wrote Pam Berg.
Amarilys Febus-Clarke wrote: “That person should be legally charged for purposely and knowingly put others in danger to contract something that could be deadly.
“What is wrong with people?” she added.