By Natalie Rodriguez

Law360 (March 4, 2020, 10:14 PM EST) -- When New York City attorney Gregory Cannata stepped into the lobby of his Manhattan office Wednesday morning, building staff were actively wiping down doorknobs and security personnel were giving out hand sanitizers.

It was unclear whether the sanitizers were a gift or something more mandatory.

Gregory J. Cannata & Associates LLP, a personal injury law firm, is in One Grand Central Place at 60 E. 42nd Street. The 55-story building was thrust into the spotlight Tuesday when an unnamed attorney at Lewis & Garbuz PC, one of the many smaller law firms that call the tower home, became the city's second confirmed COVID-19 coronavirus patient.

On Wednesday afternoon, city officials disclosed that the attorney's wife, who also practices at the firm, and their son had also tested positive.

Before that piece of news broke, Lewis & Garbuz was already the talk of the elevator car, said Cannata, who did not personally know attorneys at the firm.

All of the employees of Lewis & Garbuz are undergoing testing for the virus or are close to being tested, New York City officials said Wednesday. The firm specializes in estate planning and elder law and has six attorneys and a paralegal listed on its website.

But other than some increased cleaning protocols, sources say it has been mostly business as usual in the building and nearby area for tenants.

"This is something people are worried about," Cannata said. "But the reality of the situation is people can get sick with contact of germs on the subway or in other areas. The fact that it's in the building doesn't really mean much in terms of increasing the likelihood."

The virus does not transmit in the air or by casual contact, but by coming into contact with droplets containing the virus and introducing those droplets to one's eyes, nose or mouth, according to experts.

Amid the increased cleaning procedures, the elevator bank that connected to Lewis & Garbuz has gotten extra attention, according to Cannata.

On the same day the first attorney tested positive, city officials arrived at the firm's office in the morning before any employees to tell them they were conducting an investigation to rule out close contact, New York City Health Commissioner Oxiris Barbot said at Wednesday's press conference. No one worked at the firm's office that day, as everyone was able to work remotely.

"It was a very aggressive response as soon as we found out," Barbot said.

The attorney who was initially diagnosed with COVID-19 is currently hospitalized. His wife and two children are self-isolating, according to authorities. On Wednesday, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said authorities were working toward getting the firm's seven other employees and one intern tested.

Otherwise, however, the NYC Department of Health and the Deputy Mayor's Office issued a statement to tenants of the building to proceed as usual.

"Please continue your normal business operations. There is no cause for alarm. COVID19 is not so contagious that it transmitted through casual contact (i.e. riding in the same elevator or subway car or passing in the hall). Those who have had close contact with any exposed individual are most at risk and the NYC Health Department has already been in touch with these individuals and provided appropriate guidance," said the statement, shared with Law360 on Wednesday.

Two blocks away, at the Chrysler Building, work and life at litigation boutique Lewis Baach Kaufmann Middlemiss PLLC was also proceeding largely uninterrupted, according to name partner Eric Lewis.

"We're doing a lot more elbow bumping than handshaking," Lewis said. "People are sitting further away on the subway. But we haven't reached the point where people are working from home and the like."

He noted he and the firm are paying attention to guidelines — such as increasing hand washing and not touching one's face — issued by medical authorities. Otherwise, the firm is working to maintain normalcy.

"I think we will proceed as normally as we can, consistent with the advice and data we get from scientists," Lewis said.

Cannata similarly implemented a new "hygiene program" at his firm last week as news of the coronavirus spread. The new policies include having all employees wash their hands when they come into the office, as well as regularly wiping down work stations, telephones, doorknobs and the pantry area.

"We're doing everything we can really do to prevent the spread, short of having people wear biohazard suits," Cannata said.

His firm, which has five attorneys, has also begun discouraging clients from coming into the office unnecessarily and has been preparing for the possibility of employees working remotely for long periods.

"I don't want to see my whole staff sick, and we don't want to cease operations," Cannata said.

--Editing by Breda Lund.

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