Gov. Brian Kemp said Friday that a newly appointed coronavirus task force will focus on ensuring state and private-sector leaders are on the same page in preventing or containing a potential outbreak in Georgia.
Kemp stressed that Georgia had no confirmed cases as of Friday afternoon, though about 200 residents who recently returned from trips to China are being self-quarantined in their homes. State authorities are speaking regularly with federal officials to plan for an outbreak and are coordinating with the White House on funding, he said.
» THE LATEST: Complete coverage of coronavirus in Georgia
“We’ve been in preparation mode for weeks now, organizing state agencies and developing a strategic plan,” Kemp said during a news conference at the state Capitol.
Worldwide, more than 83,000 people in at least 56 countries have been infected, and more than 2,800 have died.
The number of cases in the U.S. is 61, including Americans repatriated from China and pulled from the Diamond Princess cruise ship docked in Japan.
Kemp noted that he had spoken earlier Friday with Vice President Mike Pence, who’s leading the federal effort. The federal government “stands ready from a funding perspective to support the states. They realize that the states and county health departments are on the front lines of this,” he said.
Kemp's 18-member task force held its first meeting Friday afternoon and has tentatively scheduled its next meeting for Monday, a spokesman for the governor said. The task force includes physicians, emergency preparedness leaders and the general manager of Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.
Georgia officials are working to establish contingency plans in case the COVID-19 virus hits the state, said Kathleen Toomey, state public health commissioner. It’s not possible to know when or if Georgia will have cases, she said, but the “risk for transmission here in Georgia remains low.”
“We have a robust plan in place … developed for this type of outbreak — pandemic influenza,” she said during Kemp’s news conference. “We’re working with other state agencies and statewide partners to ensure we have all the systems in place to respond.”
Toomey noted that Georgia had successfully responded to earlier threats, including the Ebola virus and West Nile virus.
Those “demonstrated our capacity to respond quickly to prevent the spread of infection in the community and rapidly coordinate with medical providers and hospitals,” she said.
State lawmakers are considering widespread budget cuts to deal with a revenue shortfall, including potential cuts to local health departments and other public health providers. The cuts, if approved, won't diminish Georgia's ability to deal with a virus outbreak, Kemp said.
“I would tell Georgians they don’t need to worry about that,” Kemp said. “That’s what we have emergency funds for.”
State legislators from Fulton County on Friday met with Grady Hospital CEO John Haupert, who said the 700-bed hospital gets weekly reports on the national inventory of supplies and medications that would be needed if the virus hits Atlanta.
“I hope it’s not a big deal, but we have to plan as if it’s going to be a really big deal,” Haupert said.
In response to a question about unusable testing kits that the state received from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Toomey said that the Georgia Public Health Laboratory in Decatur is preparing to begin testing for the coronavirus in the next couple of weeks. That will help speed the state's testing of potential cases, because local public health workers won't need to route the tests through the CDC.
Meanwhile, the coronavirus outbreak continued to spook investors on Wall Street and force companies to curtail travel. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell this week to its lowest level since June, wiping out about $3 trillion in value from U.S. equities.
Shipments into the state’s ports are projected to drop up to 40% in March and April.
Early reports suggest the virus kills between 1% and 3% of those infected. The virus has spread rapidly because early symptoms are mild and difficult to detect. Those most vulnerable are older parents and anyone with underlying health conditions. There is no vaccine or proven treatment for the virus.
Health officials have said Georgians should prepare for major disruptions to their daily lives and take steps to prevent transmission. Those steps include measures like washing your hands frequently and getting a flu shot.
The new virus emerged in late December as a cluster of pneumonia-like cases linked to a live animal and seafood market in Wuhan, located in China’s Hubei province. Since then, the numbers have been growing dramatically every day. A global public health emergency was declared last month.
Staff writers Helena Oliviero and Ben Brasch contributed to this story.
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