“I think we all walked out of there agreeing to continue to monitor the situation, and if it looked like the situation regarding the virus changed, then we want to make sure we’re working collectively to stay on top of the issue,” he said.

Rikli said most of the information shared by health officials was of a general nature, but it also covered how things would be affected if the disease starts to spread in the U.S.

“But it certainly wasn’t tied to timelines in any way, shape or form,” he said.

He said officials discussed in general what communities can do to respond, such as limiting use of public meeting spaces if the virus is spreading fast. That could mean closing movie theaters or restricting public buildings proactively to stop or slow the spread of the disease, he said.

“Closing schools was certainly one that they discussed and we talked about briefly,” he said. “But no specific plans when that school closure might happen or the nature of the closing. It’s too early to say, I think.”

Pour told the superintendents that there are so many variables, it’s hard to tell how the disease might evolve, Rikli said. As he understood the briefing, the coronavirus can be easily misdiagnosed and hence not treated correctly, allowing it to spread.