Long Beach declared a local health emergency because of the possible spread of the coronavirus to the city, officials announced Wednesday morning, March 4.

There are currently no confirmed or suspected conoravirus cases in Long Beach, health officials said.

“We are prepared and continue to plan to address any possible spread of the coronavirus,” Mayor Robert Garcia said in a statement. “We continue to take proactive measures that will protect, treat and care for our residents, especially those most vulnerable.”

Officials declared health and city emergencies to “strengthen” Long Beach’s “preparedness and ability to respond” to the new coronavirus strain, also known as COVID-19, which causes respiratory illness. Long Beach’s announcement came the same day Los Angeles County declared a state of emergency.

The county also confirmed six new cases of the virus — which does not yet have a vaccine — with positive lab results and were linked to an “assumed known exposure,” Barbara Ferrer, director of Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, said at the press conference, at which L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti also attended.

County officials, though, stressed that they were acting out of “an abundance of caution” and not panic.

“If you’re sick with anything, we need people to stay home,” Ferrer said.

The county, Ferrer said, will increase testing capacity at its local public health lab, one of 10 in the state to receive testing kits from the CDC. The county will also begin daily radio briefings, and post new guidelines for “childcare facilities, schools, colleges and universities, employers, hotels, public safety responders, shelters, and parents” on preparing for and slowing the virus’s spread.

In Long Beach, meanwhile, Dr. Anissa Davis, Long Beach’s health officer, declared the health emergency; Acting City Manager Tom Modica declared the city emergency.

The City Council must ratify the emergencies within seven days. A majority of councilmembers said Wednesday that they are likely to do so.

“The declarations are legal documents,” the city’s announcement on the health emergency said, “that will mobilize city resources, accelerate emergency planning, streamline staffing, coordinate agencies across the city, allow for future reimbursement by the state and federal governments and raise awareness throughout Long Beach about how everyone can prepare in the event that COVID-19 appears in our community.”

Although it appears the virus has not yet arrived in Long Beach, Davis said in a Wednesday phone interview, the emergencies are necessary to prepare for if and when a local case does appear.

“Should we have a case in Long Beach,” she said, “the basic public health measures in order to contain the virus necessitate a very large workforce.”

If a single case is identified, Davis said, it’s possible that person may have had 100 contacts with other people — family members, colleagues, fellow students, people in businesses they’ve visited.

“The public health responsibility is to find all those people,” she said, “monitor them actively, recommend whether they should be quarantined or not, and recommend whether they should be tested or not.”

It’s important to be able to deploy those resources immediately, Davis added, if and when the need arises.

As for whether Long Beach is at a high risk for an outbreak, Davis said it’s hard to tell. She said there’s nothing particularly unique about Long Beach that would increase its risk over that of other cities in the country — except for the fact that there are cases close by in Los Angeles County.

“Since there are more cases in the surrounding area,” she said, “it definitely highlights the fact that we need to be prepared.”

The novel coronavirus was first detected in Wuhan, China, on Dec. 31. It has since spread to more than 70 countries, including the United States, according to the World Health Organization.

There have been 93,090 confirmed cases globally, as of Wednesday, March 4, with with more than 12,660 of those outside of China, according to WHO data.

Coronavirus, officials in Long Beach and elsewhere have said, usually causes mild symptoms, such as fever and cough. But it can cause more severe symptoms, such as pneumonia and difficulty breathing — and be fatal for certain folks, such as the elderly or those with other health problems.

Nearly 3,200 people have died worldwide, according to WHO.

In the U.S., there have been 108 confirmed cases of coronavirus, according to WHO; it’s unclear if that number includes the five New York state cases Gov. Andrew Cuomo confirmed Wednesday afternoon. Another 44 Americans, who were aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship that was quarantined in Japan last month, also were diagnosed withe the virus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Eleven deaths have been reported in the United States, 10 of which were in Washington state; Placer County, in Northern California, reported the state’s first coronavirus death Wednesday.

The virus, Long Beach officials said, primarily spreads through person-to-person transmission — generally among those in close contact, within six feet — or through respiratory droplets via coughing or sneezing.

There has been some community transmission throughout the West Coast.

The Long Beach Health Department has activated its Department Operations Center, “prioritizing resources and leadership to focus on the clinical, epidemiological and community response,” officials said.

“This is a global outbreak that is entering a new phase, and we must be prepared,” Long Beach Health Director Kelly Colopy said in a statement.

“We are, and have been, working closely with other city agencies, the private health care systems, and businesses and educational institutions,” she added, “to ensure that Long Beach is well informed and positioned to respond and do our best to mitigate the impact of the new virus, if it emerges in Long Beach.”

Long Beach officials also said they have received advice from the CDC on how to prepare for the virus.

The virus has already had some effect on Long Beach economically, with higher-than-usual cancellations of ships traveling from China to the Port of Long Beach, and a major trade conference set for this week getting canceled.

But Steve Goodling, the president and CEO for the Long Beach Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, said the cancellation of TPM20 has so far been an aberration.

The bureau has reached out to the organizers of all of the conventions scheduled for 2020 and two or three have “talked” about possibly canceling their events. That’s of 36 citywide conventions — boasting anywhere from 2,500 to 10,000 people — and 124 smaller conventions.

The Long Beach Convention Center, like other public buildings, has added sanitation stations and brought on additional workers to wipe down and clean surfaces frequently, Goodling said; all of the city’s hotels, he added, have worked with their corporate parents to update cleaning-and-sanitation guidelines because of coronavirus. The Long Beach Airport has taken the same steps.

“What I’m worried about,” Goodling said, “is the perception that Long Beach is a hotbed (for the virus), when it’s not, will hurt attendance.”

And then there’s he Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, which still plans to put on its annual event next month. Organizers will work to mitigate the risk to race-goers, said Jim Michaelian, The president and CEO of the Grand Prix of Long Beach Association. More than 187,000 people are expected to attend the three-day event.

“Some of the precautions we and our partners will be taking include making sure all of our attendees have access to fully stocked handwashing stations as well as alcohol-based hand sanitizer,” Michaelian said in a statement. “In addition, we will ensure that frequently touched surfaces are routinely cleaned and disinfected.

“At this time,” Michaelian added, “the threat to the general public is low and there are no changes planned to the regular operation of our event.”

Davis, for her part, said city officials are monitoring all major upcoming events — including the Grand Prix — as well as schools, businesses, restaurants and any other place where people tend to congregate.

“We’re trying to make all the venues and all of our gatherings as safe as possible, so we’re sending out a lot of guidance on access to handwashing and soap and things like that,” she said, “but there’s no thought about canceling anything.”

Davis said it is important that people remain aware of the preventative measures they can take — but that no one should panic.

Pasadena, meanwhile, also announced its own health emergency Wednesday.

What you can do to reduce risk

These are the steps the Long Beach Health Department recommends folks take to reduce their risk of getting coronavirus:

Wash your hands with soap and water often for at least 20 seconds;

Avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands;

Avoid close contact with people who are sick;

Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash;

Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces; and

Stay home if you are sick.

Davis also said people should think about preparing for what it might look like if kids need to stay home from school or if people need to work from home. She recommended people with underlying health conditions ensure they have medication lined up and be in touch with their health care providers to discuss any other preventative measures they should take.

Staff writer Olga Grigoryants and City News Service contributed to this report.