California governor announces statewide stay-at-home order

(Image credit: AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, Pool)

last updated 20 March 2020

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) issued a statewide stay-at-home order Thursday night, effective at midnight, in an attempt to slow down the spread of the coronavirus.

California is home to 40 million people. As of Thursday evening, 958 people have tested positive for the COVID-19 coronavirus in the state and 19 have died.

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The coronavirus pandemic "requires us to adjust our thinking and adjust our activities," Newsom added, and he is "confident that the people of the state of California will abide by it to do the right thing. They'll meet this moment, they'll step up as they have over the course of the last number of weeks to protect their families and to protect the broader community." He urged people to use their "common sense," and said if the state is "going to be criticized, let's be criticized for doing the right thing."

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

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