Georgia governor creates coronavirus task force

ATLANTA — Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp announced Friday that he’s set up a task force to assess the state’s preparations for addressing any potential coronavirus cases.

Kemp did not name the members of the task force in a news release, but said it’s comprised of a “coalition of subject matter experts from the private and public sectors.”

They will work on preventative measures, resource deployment and collaboration with other government agencies, the Republican governor said.

The governor’s office said Kemp was on a phone call with Vice President Mike Pence earlier in the day about the Trump administration’s efforts to combat the virus.

There are no confirmed cases of coronavirus in the state, Georgia Department of Public Health Commissioner Kathleen Toomey said in a statement included in the new release.

“We have no way of knowing when or if we will have COVID-19 cases,” she said at the news conference with Kemp. ”What we do know is that we have a robust plan in place, a plan initially developed for this type of outbreak, pandemic influenza.”

She said the state has sent less than 10 samples to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to test for the virus, but all have been negative.

She said it’s taking the CDC four to five days to return test results, but the state should have its own testing capability within the next two weeks.