New York City has recorded a sixth death from the Legionnaires’ disease outbreak on the Upper East Side, the city’s health department announced on July 27, 2026. The illness has affected 90 people since it was identified in early July.
“We extend our sincere condolences to his loved ones, and our thoughts are with them at this difficult time,” city health commissioner Dr. Alister Martin said in a post on Platform X announcing the death.
This outbreak of the severe form of pneumonia led to more than 70 individuals being hospitalized, and six of them are still hospitalized, according to data from the municipal health department. However, health authorities report that there have been no new diagnoses since July 17, 2026, nor reports of new symptoms in the last two weeks.
“We continue to believe the source of exposure has been eliminated,” Martin said on Platform X.
The city’s health department points out that the focus of the outbreak is likely associated with a water cooling tower on the Upper East Side. This tower was contaminated with Legionella bacteria, responsible for Legionnaires’ disease when inhaled through small droplets of water, and not through human-to-human transmission.
As part of the outbreak investigation, the health agency has been testing cooling towers to identify Legionella bacteria in three ZIP codes located between Central Park and the East River: 10028, 10128 and 10075.
To date, 56 buildings in these zip codes have had their cooling towers test positive for live Legionella bacteria. Other constructions also showed positivity in rapid PCR tests, which detect both live and dead bacteria.
All of these properties were ordered to empty, clean and disinfect their towers in order to eliminate the presence of the bacteria. However, city health officials indicate that more testing is needed to determine which specific tower caused the initial outbreak.
