California Lockdown: Governor Gavin Newsom Issues Statewide ‘Stay at Home’ Order

California Governor Gavin Newsom has issued a statewide ‘stay at home’ order for his entire state in response to the Covid-19 global pandemic. The new measure was announced on Thursday, making California one of the first states to introduce such a restriction.

“This is a moment we need to make tough decisions. We need to recognise reality,” Newsom said.

California is the most populous state in the Union and Newsom estimated that up to half of the state’s 40 million people could contract the virus over the next two months. The number of global cases is currently more than 250,000 and rising rapidly.

Governor @GavinNewsom issued a stay at home order to protect the health and well-being of all Californians and to establish consistency across the state in order to slow the spread of #COVID19.

What does that mean? Find more information here: https://t.co/pTtYNN5DHE

— California Governor (@CAgovernor) March 20, 2020

Residents will be allowed to leave their homes to buy groceries, take exercise, walk their dogs and purchase medicine. However, public interactions are to be limited in an effort to slow the spread of the disease, which has taken 205 lives in the U.S. so far.

“Those that work in critical sectors should go to work. Grocery stores, pharmacies, banks and more will stay open. We need to meet this moment and flatten the curve together,” Newsom said on Twitter.

CA is issuing a statewide, mandatory STAY AT HOME order.

Those that work in critical sectors should go to work. Grocery stores, pharmacies, banks and more will stay open.

We need to meet this moment and flatten the curve together.

Go to https://t.co/xtXFwVeWc2 to learn more.

— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) March 20, 2020

Several nations have taken similar steps to California. China and Italy have imposed major restrictions on leaving the home, while many European countries have either introduced business shutdowns and social distancing or are in the process of doing so. It remains to be seen if other states, or the federal government, will adopt the same approach.