Los Angeles County officials declared a local public health emergency regarding the coronavirus on Wednesday, March 4, as six new cases of the disease were revealed in the county in the last 48 hours.

Barbara Ferrer, director of Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, said at a press conference with other county officials that leaders should expect more cases of COVID-19 in the days ahead.

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

Flanked by Mayor Eric Garcetti and Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis, Supervisor Kathryn Barger speaks as public health officials and city and county leaders declare a local public health emergency as the number of coronavirus cases increase in Los Angeles County on Wednesday, March 4, 2020. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

Los Angeles County Director of Public Health Barbara Ferrer with Mayor Eric Garcetti and LA County Supervisors Kathryn Barger, Hilda Solis and Janice Hahn speaks as public health officials and city and county leaders declare a local public health emergency as the number of coronavirus cases increase in Los Angeles County on Wednesday, March 4, 2020. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

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Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis speaks as public health officials and city and county leaders declare a local public health emergency as the number of coronavirus cases increase in Los Angeles County on Wednesday, March 4, 2020. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

Los Angeles County Director of Public Health Barbara Ferrer answers questions as public health officials and city and county leaders declare a local public health emergency as the number of coronavirus cases increase in Los Angeles County on Wednesday, March 4, 2020. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

Mayor Eric Garcetti speaks as public health officials and city and county leaders declare a local public health emergency as the number of coronavirus cases increase in Los Angeles County on Wednesday, March 4, 2020. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)



Pasadena Public Health Officer Ying-Ying Goh declares a state of emergency in Pasadena as public health officials and city and county leaders gather in Los Angeles to discuss preparedness as coronavirus cases increase in Los Angeles County on Wednesday, March 4, 2020. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

LA county Supervisor Kathryn Barger speaks about proclaiming state of emergency in response to prevent spread of #Coronovirus #covid19 pic.twitter.com/q0CL55pXDw — Olga Grigoryants (@OlgaGrigory) March 4, 2020

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

Appearing at a morning news conference attended by L.A. Department of Public Health officials, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and L.A. County Supervisors Kathryn Barger and Janice Hahn, the officials said the declaration would allow greater coordination among various levels of government.

The city of Pasadena will declare a state of emergency today, too, health officials said, though the city has yet to report any confirmed cases of the virus. The city operates its own health department.

Barbara Ferrer, director of Los Angeles County Department of Public Health speaks about the county's response to #covid19 pic.twitter.com/aFEby7txpq — Olga Grigoryants (@OlgaGrigory) March 4, 2020

Long Beach, which also operates its own health department, declared emergency status as well on Wednesday. It also has no confirmed cases as of Wednesday

The six new cases were confirmed Tuesday night with positive lab results and were linked to an “assumed known exposure,” according to Ferrer. A vaccine against the virus is not yet available, Ferrer said.

“There’s either a travel history to an area with an outbreak, there’s exposure to known travelers coming from areas where there’s an outbreak, or the person is in close contact with a confirmed case,” she said.

“This means as of today, we still don’t have known cases of community transmission.”

Ferrer laid out a series of steps the department will be taking in the days and weeks ahead:

“We are increasing our capacity for testing at our local public health lab. (It is) among 10 California health labs that have received CDC test kits and we have additional kits on the way. We are currently testing and have been since last Wednesday,” Ferrer said.

“We will ensure that people who test positive for the novel coronavirus and their close contacts are quickly identified and closely monitored and supported while they are in isolation and/or quarantine.”

Ferrer also said the department will begin daily radio briefings Thursday on three different stations, and is posting new guidelines for “childcare facilities, schools, colleges and universities, employers, hotels, public safety responders, shelters, and parents on how they can prepare for and slow the spread of the virus, officially known as COVID-19.

Additionally, the department is sending out technical assistance teams on site visits to interim housing facilities to make sure all necessary precautions are taken.

“We’re increasing the number of tests we’re doing,” Ferrer said. “There are more requests for testing and there are more requests that we’re doing. I don’t know an exact number, but it’s well over a dozen.”

She urged the community to be vigilant, but not panicky. “We know that people are nervous and scared and we know that their fears are justifiable,” she said. “It’s a new virus and we don’t have all the answers. We can’t say today we have this many cases and tomorrow we’re going to have this many cases. Our projects are not necessarily as accurate as people want them to be.”

She added that county public health officials has already more than a dozen of tests this week. Currently, about 650 people are being monitored by our public health nurses. Those people are travelers who returned from mainland China, she said.

The county’s pandemic response plan for COVID-19 in accordance with guidelines from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.

On Tuesday night, hours after the news conference was announced, officials with Kaiser Permanente confirmed to various media outlets that it was treating a newly diagnosed coronavirus patient in Los Angeles.

“Kaiser Permanente is overseeing the care of a coronavirus patient who is home in self-isolation and being treated on an outpatient basis,” according to a Kaiser statement. “We are in touch with and monitoring the patient.”

No other details were released about the patient or how the person may have been exposed to the illness that has killed more than 3,100 people worldwide, mostly in China. Nine deaths have been reported in the United States, all in Washington state. More than 93,000 cases of the illness, officially known as COVID-19, have been confirmed around the globe.

A previous confirmed coronavirus patient in Los Angeles County has since recovered and been released from treatment.

The county Board of Supervisors and the Los Angeles City Council are both expected to hear reports during their Wednesday meetings about the status of the illness locally.

News of the new Los Angeles cases came on the heels of Orange County health officials announcing Tuesday that two more residents there had tested positive locally for the virus. Those diagnoses were still awaiting confirmation from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to the Orange County Health Care Agency.

Orange County also had a previous coronavirus patient who has also recovered.

The newest Orange County patients are a man in his 60s and a woman in her 30s who had recently traveled to countries with widespread outbreaks of COVID-19. One media report indicated that the pair had both traveled —separately — to Italy.

Dr. Nichole Quick, Orange County’s health officer, credited the discovery of the new patients to increased local testing ability.

“The more you look for something, the more likely you are to find it,” she said. “… Now that our Public Health Laboratory is able to perform COVID-19 testing, we expect to see more cases here in Orange County. Our residents should take everyday precautions to prevent the spread of respiratory illnesses like covering your coughs and sneezes, avoiding touching your face, and washing your hands frequently.”

There have been nine deaths from coronavirus in the United States, all in Washington state. Worldwide, roughly 93,000 cases of COVID-19 have been reported, and more than 3,100 deaths.

City News Service contributed to this story.