CALIFORNIA—Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a statewide “stay at home” order on Thursday evening, bringing California’s nearly 40 million residents in line with shelter-in-place orders recently issued by Santa Cruz and Monterey county officials.
The directive goes into effect this evening, Newsom said at a press conference Thursday.
“We are confident that the people of the state of California will abide by it,” he said. “They’ll do the right thing. They’ll meet this moment as they have over the course of the last number of weeks.”
The order is similar to the shelter-in-place orders passed throughout the Bay Area and Santa Cruz County on Monday. Monterey County also passed a shelter-in-place order the following day.
Those local orders call for all residents to stay home unless engaging in “essential activities, essential governmental functions, or to operate essential businesses.”
In addition, all public and private outdoor gatherings are prohibited, as is all non-essential travel. Residents can still go outside to engage in outdoor activities, although they are still urged to follow social distancing guidelines, such as staying at least six feet away from others.
There were 14 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Santa Cruz County as of Thursday evening.
Monterey County on Thursday announced two more cases, just two days after it announced its first two.
