Idaho Governor Brad Little says he has created a working group to oversee his state’s response to the coronavirus.
Little held a press conference in Boise to announce that that group met for the first time today [Wednesday]. He says his staff and state agencies have been monitoring the worldwide situation for the last two months.
For now, the state has no known confirmed cases of coronavirus, says the state’s epidemiologist, Dr. Christine Hahn. She says tests have been conducted on a small number of people who showed symptoms.
“We already have results on six patients, but we have at least that many that will also be tested today with results coming out this evening. It is ramping up very quickly and since we are accepting samples till midday, I can’t speak to how many will be tested today, but I think you’ll start to see those numbers go up quite a bit," Hahn said.
Governor Little says has directed his office to work with the legislature to make sure money is available for state and local agencies dealing with coronavirus.He says he’s confident the federal government will also come through with money if needed.
For now, Little is urging Idahoans to employ basic hygiene methods to protect themselves from exposure.
“From what we know about it, the 2019 novel coronavirus should not be of concern for parents of healthy children," he said. "But for our older population and those with compromised health conditions, the coronavirus, just like the common flu, could be very harmful or deadly, especially since it’s occurring during the flu season.”
The state has developed a new online resource so people can access up-to-date information. You can find that at coronavirus.idaho.gov.