‘Three threats at once’: California urges caution amid spread of RSV, COVID, flu
California Governor Gavin Newsom urges residents to slow down and to “stay home,” even if that means staying at home. (Ruy Teixeira / Associated Press )
3:42 p.m.
California Governor Gavin Newsom has just announced another mandatory “stay-at-home” order for the Golden State.
The governor said the order will go into effect at midnight Sunday, and it will include the ordering of all local governments to follow his orders.
“This is a moment in time for Californians to pause, and we need those moments to help us heal, heal from pain, heal from fear and heal from fear about what comes next,” he said.
The announcement came after a briefing for reporters Monday evening.
The order will remain in place for the next 14 days, and will also be expanded to include other counties, he said.
The order will also include guidelines about gatherings, such as banning large gatherings outside of the home, with a “no gathering” zone of 500 feet inside homes and businesses.
He also said that while his order will allow people to work outside, they will be allowed to do so only in limited places, and that is especially for employers, so they can protect workers, family members and neighbors.
In recent days, people working at grocery stores in Los Angeles and elsewhere have been told to shelter in place.
3:11 p.m.
The head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency says that when California orders people to stay home for 14 days, it really means “a 14-day lockdown.”
Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Peter Gaynor said Monday that he thinks most of the nation considers the stay-at-home portion of the virus to be something that’s just a temporary order.
“What we’re seeing right now is that a lot of people are using the 14 day period as sort of a ‘free pass,’” Gaynor said during a teleconference about the spread of the coronavirus in the U.S.
He’s asked people in California to not use the 14-day period to go do what they want to do, but to abide by the guidance contained in his order.
2:33 p.m.
California’s health director is now recommending that all public places — including restaurants, malls, health care facilities and