HENRICO COUNTY, Va. -- The Henrico County Board of Supervisors learned more about the coronavirus from county health officials Tuesday night and discussed ways they plan to prepare for potential outbreaks in the Commonwealth.
'It has been a whirlwind for the last two weeks and really this past week," Dr. Danny Avula, Director of Richmond and Henrico Health Departments, said.
Dr. Avula provided an update to Henrico County leaders on the coronavirus in Virginia at a Tuesday night meeting.
"It's going to take somewhere between 12 to 18 months to actually develop an effective vaccine," Dr. Avula said.
At Tuesday's meeting, Henrico leaders brainstormed how Henrico would react if the virus spread throughout the county.
"Starting to plan and make decisions at what point will we consider closing schools or at what stage of spread in community will we start to consider canceling events," said Dr. Avula.
He said most of the confirmed cases in Virginia are from people who traveled out of the country.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said anyone exposed to the virus must be quarantined for 14 day.
Right now lawmakers in D.C. are working on legislation that would provide emergency sick days to anyone infected.
Henrico County Board of Supervisors Chair Tommy Brannin said if county workers are impacted by the coronavirus they won't have to worry about sick days.
"We are without hesitation, giving that 14 day leave," said Branin.