Health officials in northern Nevada are bracing for the likelihood that the coronavirus will spread to the state after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed Thursday a patient is being treated for the disease in Sacramento, California.
“We do have a pandemic flu plan. Now this, of course, is not flu, but a lot of the things we would do to help control an influenza pandemic would be apropos to this coronavirus situation," said Randall Todd, the Director of Epidemiology and Public Health Preparedness for the Washoe County Health District.
The Nevada State Public Health Laboratory, located at the University of Nevada, Reno, has one CDC test kit for the coronavirus, which can test a few hundred patients.
Governor Steve Sisolak is holding a press conference in Las Vegas this afternoon to discuss the state's response to the coronavirus outbreak. Local, state and federal health officials will join the governor.