PHOENIX (AP) — Gov. Doug Ducey said Monday that the risk of the coronavirus remains low but acknowledged that the state's economy has taken a hit.

The state has five confirmed cases but officials have said they expect more. Ducey participated with other governors in a video conference call with Vice President Mike Pence on Monday morning and said he's made preparing for an outbreak a top priority.

In other developments, a popular annual book festival in Tucson set for next weekend was cancelled after over 100 authors pulled out over concerns about the virus. The board of the directors for the Tucson Festival of Books said in a statement Monday it feared even more authors would cancel. Over 100,000 people attend the festival, which was first held in 2009.

Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego said the city expects the March 15 Democratic presidential debate to proceed as planned. And officials at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport announced that two passengers who passed through the airport on Feb. 28 and took WestJet flight 1199 to Toronto had the virus. Passengers seated nearby are being told to self-isolate.

Ducey downplayed questions about the potential hit to the state's revenues, despite moves in the state Legislature to enact new tax cuts that could result in hundreds of millions of lost revenue. The Republican governor is proposing a $45 million tax cut by exempting pensions received by retired military members, but a much larger package is being pushed by Republicans who control the Legislature.

Arizona's proposed proposed budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1 is $12.3 billion.

For most people, the new virus known as COVID-19 causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, health experts have said.

The vast majority of people recover from the new virus. According to the World Health Organization, people with mild illness recover in about two weeks, while those with more severe illness may take three to six weeks to recover. In China, more than 80,000 people have been diagnosed and more than 58,000 have so far recovered.

Ducey said he will be cautious when it comes to negotiating a budget with the Legislature.

“The good news is there’s not a budget in front of us right now. But our state’s in a much different financial position than we were just a few years ago,” he said.

The governor came into office in 2015 facing a $1 billion shortfall but erased that and the state now has $1 billion in reserve. Lawmakers are also eying a surplus for the next budget year that hovers around $1 billion, and they are looking to return some of that to taxpayers.

The Legislature's own budget analysts have been warning that a recession is overdue, and if the new virus hits the state hard that could impact the budget. The state's tourism and travel industry could be affected, as well as its manufacturing sector.

The stock market took a major hit Monday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down nearly 8%.

As to the budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1, Ducey said he's looking at chances that growth slows.

“Of course we’re going to factor in what’s happening in the economy, which has been robust up until this point,” he said. “And this is affecting the economy, no doubt about it."