BREAKING NEWS: Governor Newsom orders citizens to stay home effective midnight

A new step for fighting COVID-19 in California, Governor Gavin Newsom has made an order for all California residents to stay home unless absolutely necessary. Although the order is not mandatory, Newsom hopes, “There’s a social contract here. People will self-regulate their behavior.” Newsom estimates that at the worst, half of the California population could become infected in the next 8 weeks. 

The quarantine will be in place as of midnight on March 19, 2020. All places of business must be closed except for essentials such as grocery stores, pharmacies, and banks. Non-essential places of business can become hotbeds for infection, where people are closer together than what is considered safe, like theaters and dine-in restaurants.

The stay-at-home policy is said to be in place until further notice.  According to an article from CNBC, “Newsom said he made the decision ‘based upon some new information’ and projections that came in from Johns Hopkins University.”  Newsom repeatedly mentioned, “flattening the curve,” referring to slowing the spread of COVID-19 so that medical facilities will be able to handle patients more effectively.