California Issues 'Stay-At-Home Order': Coronavirus

SACRAMENTO, CA — All Californians are under a stay-at-home order due to concerns about the new coronavirus, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Thursday evening.

The news came minutes after Los Angeles County announced plans for similar restrictions.

Shelter-in-place orders had been issued across six Bay Area counties Monday. Soon after, Santa Cruz, Monterey and Solano, Napa and Sonoma counties followed suit.

"This is not a permanent state — this is a moment in time," Newsom said. "We will meet this moment together, and we will look back at these kinds of decisions as pivotal decisions."

The order goes into effect immediately and is in place until further notice. Californians may still leave their homes to obtain essential goods and services. Restaurants may still serve takeout and delivery, though in-person dining is not permissible.

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Grocery stores, pharmacies, farmers markets, food banks, gas stations, banks and laundromats are among the "essential services" that may continue operating under the order.

Workers in fields such as health care, food and agriculture, government and, communications are among the "critical" workers who may continue to work, according to the order. See a full list of critical businesses sectors here.

Anyone who does leave their home should practice social distancing and stay at least 6 feet away from others.

Bars, nightclubs, gyms, public gatherings, convention centers are among the facilities that must close, according to the state.

The health care system will prioritize the sickest people, according to the order. Resources, such as protective gear, will be prioritized for providers treating sick people.

"Our goal is simple," the order states, "we want to bend the curve and disrupt the spread of the virus."

Newsom said he anticipates Californians will follow the order of their own accord.

Five hundred National Guard leaders are helping distribute food strictly for humanitarian purposes, Newsom said.

The governor said Tuesday that National Guard troops are on alert and should be prepared to ensure resiliency of supply lines and support public safety as required.

(A copy of the order is embedded below)

Earlier Thursday, news outlets reported Newsom said in a letter to President Donald J. Trump that 56 percent of the state’s population could become infected with the new coronavirus within the span of two months. The letter also requested that the USNS Mercy hospital ship be stationed at the port of Los Angeles through Sept. 1.

CNN’s Jon Passantino posted a copy of Newsom’s letter to the president — addressed March 18 — on Twitter.

Newsom estimates that 25.5 million Californians will be infected over an eight-week period.

“In the last 24 hours, we’ve had 126 new COVID-19 cases, a 21 percent increase,” Newsom said in the letter.

“In some parts of our state, our case rate is doubling every four days. Moreover, we have community-acquired transmission in 23 counties with an increase of 44 community acquired infections in 24 hours. We project that roughly 56 percent of our population — 25.5 million people — will be infected with the virus over an eight-week period.”

Newsom has said the state’s capacity of 90,000 beds is woefully inadequate to meet the expected surge of COVID-19 cases in the coming weeks and months, the Sacramento Bee reports.

The Mercy would provide 1,000 additional hospital beds. Newsom has also requested two mobile hospitals with the capacity to hold 500 patients each, the report said.

Newsom said the Mercy would help “decompress the health care delivery system to allow the Los Angeles region to ensure that it has the ability to address critical acute care needs such as heart attacks and strokes or vehicle accidents, in addition to the rapid rise in COVID-19 cases.”

In a news conference Wednesday, Trump announced that a Navy hospital ship would be deployed to the West Coast and another would be stationed off the coast of New York City.

Read the order here:

For the latest coronavirus updates on cases and closures in California please visit our roundup page.

Patch editor Courtney Teague and City News Service contributed to this report