UPDATE 5:33 P.M.: Coronavirus now in Oregon.

Gov. Kate Brown put together a special team of Oregon bureaucrats to tackle what health officials say is an inevitable outbreak of the coronavirus in the United States.

“In an escalating global health crisis, we must make sure we are as ready and informed as we can be,” Brown said in a statement.

The Coronavirus Response Team is tasked with coordinating state- and local-level preparations for an epidemic as well as the response if and when the epidemic comes, the governor’s statement said.

Composed of directors or other representatives of 12 state agencies, the group will keep the governor posted on the coronavirus situation internationally and give her advice on how to protect the public.

At the moment, though, the risk of a coronavirus infection in Oregon is low. There are no confirmed cases in the state, and all but one case nationally has been traced to travel abroad or contact with specific sick people.

As of Feb. 25, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had found two Oregonians negative for coronavirus, and the state was monitoring another 76 people for any onset of respiratory disease symptoms because they had traveled to China.

The tone of public warnings changes regularly. On Tuesday, a federal health official said a coronavirus epidemic in the United States was inevitable. On Friday, the same official reminded people that the immediate risk to Americans remains low. And President Trump has played down concerns.

Oregon’s top health official, Oregon Health Authority Director Patrick Allen, is scheduled to update lawmakers about the state’s coronavirus monitoring at 1 p.m. Friday.

-- Fedor Zarkhin

fzarkhin@oregonian.com

desk: 503-294-7674|cell: 971-373-2905|@fedorzarkhin

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