Gov. Doug Ducey declared an emergency Wednesday afternoon in response to the new coronavirus, hours after health officials announced a ninth case in the state and the head of the World Health Organization called the outbreak a pandemic.

Arizona health officials stopped short of calling for the cancellation of large events during the state's busy spring tourism season. But the emergency declaration allows the state to tap into emergency funding, gives authorities additional powers to procure medical supplies and waives licensing requirements to let health care officials take steps such as setting up new hospital beds.

Ducey also issued an executive order that will require skilled nursing facilities, nursing homes and assisted living facilities to check for symptoms of both health care workers and visitors.

The executive order also includes measures aimed at preventing price gouging while waiving co-pays for testing connected to the new coronavirus.

"While Arizona is not currently facing the number of cases that we've seen in some other states, we are anticipating additional positive cases and we're not taking any chances. This is about public health and protecting lives, especially those of our elderly and most vulnerable," Ducey told reporters at the state health laboratory near the Capitol.

The virus first emerged in Arizona in January when a person connected to Arizona State University and who had traveled to Wuhan, China tested positive.

Health officials said Wednesday there are now nine cases across the state — three in Maricopa County, five in Pinal County and one in Pima County. Two of those cases have been confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The other seven cases were tested by state health officials and are pending confirmation by federal authorities.

Several of the newest cases are household members of a health care worker in her 40s who is in the hospital in stable condition and is expected to be discharged this week. The woman's case signaled a change in the spread of new coronavirus in Arizona because public health officials don't know how the woman contracted it. The woman had no known contact with anyone who was infected and had not recently traveled to any of the affected areas.

"We now have community spread of COVID-19 in Arizona and we are expecting more cases. Our goal is to mitigate the spread of the disease and lessen the impact on people at highest risk of serious complications," said Dr. Cara Christ, director of the Arizona Department of Health Services.

COVID-19 is the disease caused by the virus.

Christ said the state does not yet recommend canceling large gatherings, telling reporters that such a step does not seem warranted in Arizona at this point.

"We are not at widespread community transmission," she said.

Why was an emergency declared?

The executive order was aimed in large part at particularly vulnerable areas in the health care system, such as nursing homes. Several nursing home residents in the state of Washington have died as COVID-19 has spread there, amplifying concerns about its effects on people whose health is already compromised and are living in close quarters.

"If COVID enters the building, you will see a much different rate of fatality than you would normally within a healthy population," said David Voepel, executive director of the Arizona Health Care Association, a trade association of nursing homes and assisted living facilities.

"So our first step, number one, is to keep COVID out of the building. Our second step — if it does enter a building — then the second step is contain it. And fortunately, we have the backing of DHS and the governor's office to limit visitations and take the necessary steps now."

Other measures state officials announced Wednesday, such as waiving certain licensing requirements, might allow health facilities to quickly set up beds in areas where they are not presently approved to do so.

State officials described this as a proactive measure to get ahead of what could be future problems.

"Worst case scenario, we might not have enough beds. That's a worst-case scenario," Christ told reporters.

At least 22 states have already declared emergencies or taken some form of executive action as cases have emerged around the country, according to data compiled by the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.

President Donald Trump signed off on $8.3 billion in emergency funding last week.

Congress designated $950 million of that funding for state and local health departments. Christ said Wednesday the state will get about $12.4 million in emergency funding, on top of $500,000 already provided. Much of the money will go to the county and tribal health officials on the front lines of monitoring the outbreak, she said.

Meanwhile, Democrats in the state Legislature have called for a special session or an omnibus bill that will provide funding and set policies for a broader response.

In an email to the governor's office, House Democratic Chief of Staff Cynthia Aragon said members of her caucus are interested in addressing issues such as guidelines for closing schools, taking additional precautions in service industries like restaurants and hotels and staffing nursing homes if other care workers become ill.

The email, shared with reporters Wednesday, said House Democrats also want to address financial assistance for people out of work due to quarantine, setting up drive-through testing sites similar to those established in Washington, ensuring thorough cleaning of public transportation and providing free evaluations to those without any health insurance.

Contact Andrew Oxford at andrew.oxford@arizonarepublic.com or on Twitter at @andrewboxford.