With the global response to a new coronavirus mounting, several individuals in Tulare County have been placed on voluntary quarantine.

County health officials are taking the precaution to comply with state and federal guidelines and prevent the spread of the deadly virus that has so far claimed more than 2,700 lives and sickened 80,000 more.

Nine people are on "self-isolation" and being monitored for symptoms of the coronavirus disease COVID-19 because they had recently traveled to China or been in contact with someone who had, Tulare County Health Department spokesperson Tammie Weyker-Adkins told the Times-Delta.

Each is being monitored from their respective homes.

Local health officials were emphatic that there are "no reported or suspected cases" of COVID-19 and "the risk in Tulare County remains low."

County health officials are working with local partners including Kaweah Delta Medical Center, first responders and health clinics to identify potential cases and assist with monitoring efforts.

"Everyone's online," said Weyker-Adkins. "We are fortunate to have a very with-it community."

Kaweah Delta has taken a number of steps to prepare for a local exposure, officials said.

"We have educated our staff about COVID-19 and continue to provide them with updates and any necessary training," said Shawn Elkin, infection prevention manager at Kaweah Delta. "We have taken stock to ensure that we have enough healthcare supplies to meet demand, and we are working to limit visitation to the Medical Center by asking people who are not feeling well to refrain from visiting patients. "

Monitoring efforts began prior to the World Ag Expo when Weyker-Adkins says the county learned that people traveling from China and other places with confirmed COVID-19 cases were visiting Tulare County.

Seven Chinese vendors were ultimately precluded from attending the international show that brings more than 100,000 people from across the globe to Tulare each year.

The virus has wreaked havoc on the global economy, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeting earlier this week and major businesses including United Airlines and Mastercard signaling that the disease could hurt their bottom lines.

'Severe' disruptions

The news comes just one day after the Center for Disease Control and Prevention warned that the virus could bring "severe" disruptions to the everyday lives of Americans.

“It’s not so much a question of if this will happen anymore, but rather more a question of exactly when this will happen – and how many people in this country will have severe illness,” said Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, during a Tuesday briefing.

Fifty-five people are being monitored by the Fresno County Health Department for potential exposure but none have tested positive or are showing symptoms of the virus, per the Fresno Bee.

There are 59 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the U.S. as of Wednesday, 10 of which are in California. No Americans have died from the virus.

Jeffrey Goad, a former president of the California Immunization Coalition, notes that the precautions to avoid coronavirus are similar to those for the flu – frequent hand washing, avoiding close contact with the sick, and staying home if you are ill.

Less than 60 cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in the U.S. More than 30 million Americans already have suffered from the flu this season. Maybe we should be paying more attention to that, he said.

"It's important to remember that influenza kills thousands of people in the U.S. every year," Goad said. "We have an effective vaccine for influenza and there’s still time to get it if you haven’t been vaccinated this season."

USA Today contributed to this report.

Could a coronavirus pandemic be stopped?:US warns of ‘severe’ disruptions

Joshua Yeager covers water, agriculture, parks and housing for the Visalia Times-Delta and Tulare Advance-Register newspapers. Follow him on Twitter @VTD_Joshy. Get alerts and keep up on all things Tulare County for as little as $1 a month. Subscribe today.