Governor Gary Herbert says it's not time to panic, but the state is diligently preparing for the continued spread of coronavirus. (PHOTO: KSL Newsradio)
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — Governor Gary Herbert addressed rising concerns about coronavirus today, saying Utah is “preparing for the worst.”
“We’re hoping for the best, but we’re preparing for the worst,” he said.
The governor spoke to multiple news organizations today when he appeared for his monthly interviews with KUED and KSL Newsradio.
The spread of coronavirus continues to make headlines. Yesterday, President Donald Trump appointed a leadership team to address concerns at the national level.
“We’re in contact every day, every day in a half, with the national folks on what’s happening with this potential pandemic,” said Herbert.
He says integrating all state health systems and effectively communicating will be key because that will allow the state to act quickly.
“We’ve activated all of our incident command systems,” says Herbert. “To make sure our communications are there and we’re coordinating with our local health departments and health care specialists.”
Some are growing concerned about the viruses continued spread, following news that the first U.S. coronavirus case of “unknown origin” is coming out of California.
Even with that in mind, Governor Herbert says it’s not time to panic, because the state has so far been protected from the disease.
“The virus has not spread to our state as of yet,” explains Herbert. “We’re actively monitoring the situation.”
Utah’s public health officials, health systems and hospitals are holding a joint news conference today.
They will be discussing new developments and how the state is preparing for a larger possible outbreak.
Earlier, University of Utah Health took to Twitter to dispel some concerns.
According to them, the virus has not infected anyone in the state at this time.