In a press conference Friday, Gov. Kim Reynolds confirmed another individual tested positive for novel coronavirus, bringing the total number of cases in the state to 17.

The person was tested in Nebraska, but is a resident of Harrison County in Iowa, Reynolds said. She added that all 22 tests conducted Friday at the State Hygenic Lab in Iowa City tested negative. The Iowa Department of Public Health is currently monitoring 143 people for COVID-19, with 46 completed.

“All 17 positive cases are travel-related and 15 are directly linked to the same Egyptian cruise,” Reynolds said. “At this time Iowa is not experiencing community spread of the virus however, we anticipate that it will happen and now is the time to prepare.”

Despite calls from other state governments to cancel K-12 schools, Reynolds said the state’s public health department and the Iowa Department of Education weren’t recommending K-12 school closures or canceling large gatherings. However, she recommended businesses and schools put plans in place for when Iowa begins experiencing community spread, which is when the source of the virus can’t be traced to out-of-state travel or a previous case.

Des Moines schools canceled classes for an extra week after their spring break, and the University of Iowa announced Friday they would shutting down all nonessential in-person events until at least April 3.

Twelve states have called for temporary K-12 school closures — Ohio, Maryland, Oregon, New Mexico, Michigan, West Virginia, Virginia, Louisiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Washington and Alabama.

When asked about why she wasn’t recommending school closure or the closure of the Legislature, Reynolds said public health officials were trying to prevent a large spike in cases, and that more measures would be taken once there was evidence of community spread.

“We want to keep business open and we want to make sure that we’re protecting the health and wellbeing of Iowans,” Reynolds said.

Reynolds added that people should avoid big gatherings if they feel unwell, or are part of an at-risk populations, such as those with diabetes, older adults, and respiratory problems. The state government is suspending all nonessential travel for state employees.

Although Pedati said public health officials would be reassessing recommendations daily, she said it was unlikely that the virus was spreading in the community without officials’ knowledge.

“We don’t think that people who are asymptomatic are representing a way that this is really passing from person to person,” Pedati said.

In an press conference earlier Friday afternoon, President Donald Trump declared a national emergency, which he said would allow him to direct $50 million in funding to disaster relief and waive laws and regulations to allow the Department of Health and Human Services to administer testing more quickly.

The State Hygenic Lab has supplies for 850 tests, Pedati said.

“Whenever we think about testing for any reason though we always want to make sure we’re being prudent and that we’re testing the right patient at the right time. We do want to make sure we are testing people who have consistant signs and symptoms and who their clinicians evaluate and feel that it’s appropriate,” she said.