Kansas health officials say the state has a plan for dealing with Ebola, although they are downplaying the risk the deadly disease poses to the public.

Officials at the Kansas Department of Health and Environment began working with local health departments, the medical community and numerous other groups in August, more than a month before the first Ebola case in the United States was reported. The Lawrence Journal-World reports that the goal of the meetings was to develop a plan for how to respond if a case actually occurs in Kansas.

State epidemiologist Charlie Hunt discussed the preparation efforts Friday while briefing the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Kansas Security.

Hunt says the plan calls for voluntary 21-day isolation and restriction of movement for people at risk of being exposed.