Newsom Issues Order For All Californians To Stay At Home

Click play above to hear Gov. Gavin Newsom's full announcement and analysis by CapRadio reporters.

By Nicole Nixon

Citing alarming projections of the possible spread of the coronavirus in California, Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a statewide directive to shelter in place Thursday night. 

“We need to bend the curve in the state of California,” he said in a press conference live-streamed on social media. “As individuals and as a community, we need to do more to meet this moment.”

In a letter sent to President Donald Trump Wednesday, Newsom said as many as 56% of the state’s population could contract the virus. The projections do not take mitigation efforts into account. 

The order will likely not be legally enforced except in counties that have said they will do so with  their own local shelter-in-place orders, such as Sacramento and many counties in the Bay Area. 

“I don’t believe people need to be told by law enforcement” to stay home, Newsom said, adding that he would rely on “social pressure” to keep people away from gatherings as much as possible.

The governor hinted that non-essential businesses that do not close could face “regulatory” or “licensing enforcement.”

The order applies to all nonessential travel, chores and business. “You can still walk your dog. You can still pick up food,” Newsom said.

It does not have an effective end date. 

“I don’t expect this could be many, many months, but for the time being, we are recognizing the next eight weeks as it relates to this virus,” Newsom said.