Gov. Gavin Newsom announces statewide coronavirus shelter-in-place order for California – The San Francisco Examiner

Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Thursday a shelter-in-place order for the entire state of California to stem the spread of the coronavirus.

Before the announcement, which he made in a press conference, a total of 21.3 million Californians, including San Francisco residents, were under similar orders.

“We need to bend the curve in the state of California, ” he said. Newsom had said earlier Thursday that more than 56 percent of California residents are likely to get COVID-19. “Let’s bend the curve together,” he said.

He said the state needs to “broaden the order to all Californians” and acknowledged it would mean inconvenience and hardship.

“If we change this moment, we can truly change the surge,” he said in a news conference streamed live on Twitter.

“Home isolation is not my preferred choice,” Newsom said, “but it’s a necessary one” as California officials work to accommodate urgent needs.

“This is not a permanent state,” Newsom said, adding that people “can still walk their dogs,” get groceries and pickup takeout food with proper precautions.

The governor said more details would be released about who is exempt from the stay at home order.

Mayor London Breed and officials from six other Bay Area counties took a similar measure on Monday. Newsom said grocery stories would stay open, and residents could still get take out and delivery food from restaurants, but establishments are being told not to allow dining within restaurants.

San Francisco diagnosed its first two cases of COVID-19 on March 5. Confirmed cases increased to 51 as of Wednesday and increased by 19 for a total of 70 on Thursday. City officials said Thursday that they are preparing for surge in cases.

Newsom’s office projected that more than half of all Californians will be infected with coronavirus in two months, according to a letter Newsom sent President Donald Trump on Wednesday.

“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 wrote.

After releasing the letter on Thursday, the Newsom administration quickly sought to clarify its projection, saying that the number did not account for aggressive measures the state is taking to slow the spread of the virus.

The stay at home order came later in the day.

He said that among other steps the state has ordered additional ventilators, is talking with the University of California on use of dormitories, and has negotiated for hospital space in Northern and Southern California that will increase the state’s capacity by 750 beds.

Tribune Content Service and Bay City News contributed to this report

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