Indiana officials Friday urged the public to take necessary precautions as the first person in the Hoosier state has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, also known as COVID-19.

The person is an adult from Marion County who traveled to Boston where he attended a conference, officials said. He is in stable condition, is self-isolated and does not require hospitalization.

The risk to the public is low, health officials said. They said they have no indications so far that the man transmitted the disease to anyone else.

They also said that the diagnosis did not come as a surprise.

"The question has never been if Indiana would get a case but when we would see one," said Dr. Kris Box, Indiana State Health Commissioner. "This is an isolated case at the time."

However, she added, Indiana could expect to see more cases. There have been more than 200 cases of the disease in the United States and more than 100,000 across the globe since the outbreak began in China in December.

Coronavirus in U.S.:How Hoosiers should prepare and what to expect

More than 20 states have seen confirmed cases of the illness, and 14 people have died, most of them in Washington state.

How Indiana diagnosed the COVID-19 case

The Indiana man attended a conference in Boston in recent days and flew home on Wednesday, health officials said. He had developed a sore throat, a low grade fever and a cough.

Additional symptoms of coronavirus include shortness of breath.

He did not go to work on Thursday but received notice that others who attended that conference have fallen ill with COVID-19 and wondered whether he might have contracted the virus, as well.

At that point, he contacted the state Health Department, who advised him to call ahead to a hospital and undergo testing. On Thursday night the man went to Community Health North.

He was taken through a side entrance of Community Hospital North, placed into an isolation room with negative airflow and did not have any contact with other patients, said Dr. Ram Yeleti, chief physician executive with Community Health Network. All the caregivers who tended to him wore appropriate infection control.

“No patients, no other caregivers were exposed to this individual,” Yeleti said.

The man tested presumptively positive at state Health Department laboratories, but samples have been sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for final confirmation.

For now, the man, who is not in a high risk group to develop severe illness, is in isolation outside the hospital.

State and local health officials said that they are investigating to determine whether the man had any contact with anyone else in Indiana since falling ill and returning home. They did not specify whether he lives with anyone else, saying the investigation was still underway.

"We will make appropriate recommendations to anyone we might feel is at high risk," said Dr. Virginia A. Caine, director of the Marion County Public Health Department.

The people who sat in the two rows ahead and behind him on his trip back from Boston also will be notified of their potential risk, Caine said.

Indiana declares public health emergency

Gov. Eric Holcomb has declared a public health emergency to ensure the state receives additional funding if needed. Congress passed a roughly $8 billion supplemental spending package on Thursday that aims to combat the spread of the coronavirus. It awaits President Donald Trump's signature.

Earlier this week, the CDC said it would provide Indiana with $250,000 to help support the state’s response to COVID-19. The money is part of $35 million the government already has allocated.

The Indiana State Department of Health received COVID-19 test kits Feb. 29 and has tested 12 people so far and is monitoring 35 others, officials said Friday. The state Health Department has the capacity to run up to 1,000 tests, state officials said earlier this week.

What to do if you're sick

Indiana health officials are reminding people to stay home if they are sick. If you think you may be sick, please call ahead to your doctor, a hospital or your health department so medical providers can be prepared to receive you and avoid exposure to health-care workers or patients.

Officials also recommended that people limit person-to-person contact, such as shaking hands or hugging. Wash your hands and make sure the hand sanitizer you use is 60% alcohol content or higher. If you’re sick, stay home.

"I need the public to be patriotic and do the things they need to do to protect themselves," Caine said.

On Thursday, Indiana State Department of Health officials said that six residents who had been aboard the cruise ship the Grand Princess would be under a 14-day home quarantine. At least two travelers on that boat developed COVID-19 infections, one of them deadly.

In states that have seen multiple cases of the illness, local health departments have advised family members and others who have had contact with infected people to quarantine themselves in an effort to curb the spread of the disease.

The United States has issued travel warnings for China, Iran, South Korea and Italy, countries that have seen thousands of cases of the illness, saying that all nonessential travel to those countries should be avoided. Federal health officials are asking people who come back to the United States after travel to those countries to remain at home for 14 days after their return.

Contact IndyStar reporter Shari Rudavsky at 317-444-6354 or shari.rudavsky@indystar.com. Follow her on Facebook and on Twitter: @srudavsky.