North Dakota now has 5 confirmed cases of the coronavirus.
Two of the cases are in Ward County, two in Burleigh County and one in Cass County. All are considered to be travel related.
None of the people have been hospitalized – all are recovering at home.
Gov. Doug Burgum said this underscores the importance of following the guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control – including frequent hand washing, social distancing -- and staying home when you are sick. He said the culture has been “North Dakota Tough” – meaning when you’re sick, you still get up and go to work. Instead, he said people need to be “North Dakota Smart.”
"North Dakota Smart is -- you figure out a way to protect other people by, even when you think you can make it, and you can tough it out, right now, make a decision that you don't," Burgum said.
Burgum also said he doesn’t think there is a need for people to stock up at retailers – on such things as bottled water and toilet paper.
"I would tell people to shop as you would normally shop," Burgum said. "If you compare our stores to those in New York City, you're not going into a market where you're shoulder-to-shoulder. We talk about being six feet away -- in the supermarkets in North Dakota, you can be 60 feet away from somebody, because we have wide aisles and wide open spaces."
Burgum said people should still feel comfortable shopping.
"But if you feel sick, don't go to the supermarket," Burgum said.
Burgum said controlling the spread of the coronavirus comes down to personal responsibility.
