Governor says state prepared for ‘low’ coronavirus threat

Gov. Kristi Noem said on Thursday the state has created an internal task force to prepare South Dakota for the possibility of a new coronavirus outbreak.

The Republican governor called the threat of an outbreak in the state “very low.” Shortly before Noem spoke, California officials announced a worrisome development — someone in California is infected, but does not appear to have the usual risk factor of travel abroad or exposure to another infected person.

Noem said the state’s Department of Health is making sure that physicians can test for the virus and provide care if people are infected. Other state agencies across the United States are preparing for the virus, even while President Donald Trump has tried to minimize fears of an outbreak.

“We’ve identified supplies, made sure that we are adequately prepared,” Noem told reporters.

South Dakota is working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to get testing equipment so that cases of the virus can be identified quickly. Florida had to send potential cases to Atlanta this week because it did not have the proper equipment to test for the virus.