Pennsylvania health officials announced Tuesday the state now has the ability to test for the coronavirus at a state lab.

The state is now using a lab in Exton, Chester County, rather than forwarding samples to a U.S. Centers for Disease Control lab in Atlanta and waiting up to 48 hours for results, state Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said during a press call Tuesday afternoon.

“This is a very important step for us,” she said.

If someone believes they have symptoms, Levine said they should contact their healthcare provider for an evaluation. After that, the provider will need to call the state department of health; if it seems appropriate, the provider can collect a specimen via a nasal swab, and send it to the state lab.

If state officials receive the specimen in the morning, they can have results as soon as later that day, Levine said.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a process for commercial labs to follow for coronavirus testing, Levine said, and the FDA will eventual authorize commercial labs to do the testing, which will help. Levine said the commercial lab authorization could come at the end of this week, or beginning of next week.

Samples from Pennsylvania have been sent over the past month, she said, and there are currently samples being tested at the state lab.

Levine declined to release the number of people being monitored or where they are located.

“We have significant privacy concerns" about releasing that information, she said.

As of 1 p.m. Tuesday, there are no confirmed cases of coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, in Pennsylvania, but Levine said officials expect the virus to spread.

“We will not be surprised if we have a positive test,” she said.

The state has spent about $200,000 so far in its response and "of course, those costs will increase,” Levine said. The state receives federal preparedness funding and hospitals get CDC funding, but not funding for the responses to an outbreak.

“We are looking to the federal government for further funding to help fund this response,” she said, later adding, “We do have the resources for quarantine if necessary."

As state officials respond to this “rapidly developing situation,” Levine noted they are also dealing with the flu season. There have been more than 100,000 flu cases, with 74 deaths in Pennsylvania so far.

New Jersey also does not have any confirmed cases, but a handful of people have been tested, including one as recently as this week.

Officials said they’re projecting the outbreak to spread to New Jersey at some point. New Jersey has its own lab, with staff at the New Jersey Public Health Environmental Laboratories in West Trenton trained and qualified to conduct the test for the virus behind.

The 2019 novel coronavirus is a new virus that causes respiratory illness in people and can spread from person-to-person, the Pennsylvania Department of Health says on its information page about the virus.

The virus has caused the death of six people in Washington state in recent days. The first U.S. case was a Washington state man who had visited China, where the virus first emerged, but several recent cases in the U.S. have had no known connection to travelers.

Northampton County officials said Tuesday there’s no evidence of coronavirus in the county, but the prison was preparing in case there is an outbreak.

The Department of Corrections has instructed its staff to avoid close contact with sick people, to frequently wash their hands, and avoid touching their face. Hand sanitizer stations are stationed throughout the jail.

Any employee showing signs of illness will be directed to check in with their personal physician and may be instructed to stay home if their health is suspect. Inmates are being encouraged to continue their daily hygiene routines as well as the mandatory laundry exchange of their linens.

“There’s no reason for alarm because, as of now, Pennsylvania does not have any reported cases of the disease, but the County is taking every precaution to protect our employees and the people they serve,” county Executive Lamont McClure said in a news release.

Later this month, Northampton County will send employees from key departments for training to be Designated Infection Control Officers. Each EMS and law enforcement agency must have a designated officer to manage exposure issues for members of the department and to assist with risk management.

Sarah Cassi may be reached at scassi@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @SarahCassi. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.