A state Department of Environmental Conservation forest ranger based in the Adirondack Park has tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.

The forest ranger was deployed downstate to help with the state’s coronavirus response when he was exposed to the virus, a union representative confirmed Tuesday. The forest ranger’s name, age and county of residence had not been released as of Tuesday by the DEC or the Police Benevolent Association of New York State, the union that represents both forest rangers and environmental conservation officers.

The forest ranger was provided with personal protective equipment when he was deployed downstate, and he was not directly involved with testing people for coronavirus, according to forest ranger Scott Van Laer, who spoke in his position as a union delegate.

“The center he was at was being run well and safely,” van Laer said. “There are no guarantees for those on the front lines even with these excellent precautions in place.”

The forest ranger is now at home and in quarantine. Van Laer said the ranger is doing OK and has moderate symptoms.

The DEC would not confirm or deny that a forest ranger had tested positive for COVID-19. DEC spokesman Jomo Miller on Monday said the department “does not comment on staff’s personal health matters.”

Forest rangers and environmental conservation officers from around the state are being deployed in areas such as New York City to help with the state’s coronavirus response.

As of Tuesday afternoon, there were more than 75,795 positive cases of COVID-19 statewide, 9,298 more than on Monday, according to Gov. Andrew Cuomo. A majority of those cases, 43,139, are in New York City, where thousands of people are being tested for the virus every day. At least 1,550 people, as of Tuesday afternoon, have died from the coronavirus in New York state.

Two more positive cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in Essex County on Tuesday, bringing the total number of cases up to seven, according to the county Health Department.

One of the people who received a positive COVID-19 test result is a student, who has returned to their dorm at a university in a different state since being tested. The health department is coordinating isolation for this person with health officials in that state, and will continue to conduct contact tracing, the department said in a news release. The six other confirmed cases remain in isolation here.

Altogether, 85 COVID-19 tests for Essex County residents have been processed. As of Tuesday, 34 residents were in quarantine because of recent travel or possible exposure to the virus.

In Franklin County, eight confirmed cases of COVID-19 were reported as of Tuesday afternoon, according to Franklin County Manager Donna Kissane. Altogether, 67 people were in quarantine awaiting test results. At least 111 tests countywide have been returned with negative results.

Franklin County residents with symptoms of COVID-19 should call the county Emergency Operations Center hotline at 518-481-1111. The hotline for Adirondack Medical Center in Saranac Lake is 518-897-2462. The Alice Hyde Medical Center in Malone also has a hotline at 518-481-2700. The statewide COVID-19 hotline is 1-888-364-3065.