PHOENIX — Gov. Doug Ducey updated Arizonans on the state's preparations for the deadly coronavirus at a 2:30 p.m. news conference Monday.
It was the governor's first public briefing since state health officials stepped up their response to the coronavirus late last week.
Ducey wasjoined by the state's top public health official, Health Services Director Dr. Cara Christ; Emergency Management Director Wendy Smith-Reeve; and the director of the state's Medicaid program, Jami Snyder.
They will be speaking from the Arizona State Public Health Laboratory in Phoenix, across the street from the Capitol.
Lab technicians were certified on Thursday to use 150 test kits to diagnose potential coronavirus cases.
Doctors can take a swab from patients and send it to the lab; Christ says the turnaround time for results is less than a day.
Christ says more test kits will be made available.
As of midday Monday, there were six reported deaths in the United States linked to COVID-19, the deadly strain of coronavirus.
The Seattle area appears to be the epicenter for the newest cases.
Arizona has had just one reported case of coronavirus, a person connected with Arizona State University who had returned from a trip to China. He was released from isolation after testing negative for the illness.
Christ said he didn't spread the illness to anyone in Arizona.
As governor, Ducey has the authority under a post-9/11 law to order emergency action to deal with a disease outbreak.
According to an Arizona Capitol Times report, Ducey could order medical exams or quarantines and could call out the National Guard to back up his orders.
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