UPDATE: NY Joins California With Lockdown Order

UPDATE 11:45AM FRIDAY:  BREAKING NEWS...New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has ordered the state’s entire workforce to stay home, saying only essential businesses can remain open.

“This is the most drastic action we can take’ amid the coronavirus pandemic, the governor said on Friday.

Mr. Cuomo took action after his counterpart in California, Gov. Gavin Newsom, issued a similar order for his state Thursday evening.

Earlier Posting...

California ordered its 40 million residents to stay at home except for essential activities becoming the largest such lockdown in the U.S., as the nation’s total coronavirus cases rose to more than 14,000 and an intensifying outbreak in Europe pushed State Department officials to advise citizens not to travel abroad, reports The Wall Street Journal.

(L-A Times Photos)

In a letter to President Trump, California Gov. Gavin Newsom said he estimated 56% of the state’s population, or 25.5 million people, would be infected over an eight-week period.

Newsom sent the letter—asking that a naval hospital ship be deployed to Los Angeles to increase health-care capacity—before the lockdown order. In calling for people to stay home, Mr. Newsom asked the state’s residents to “bend the curve together.” Nearly half of residents in America’s most populous state had already been given stay-at-home orders from local cities and counties, including Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area.

In the U.S., confirmed cases jumped to 14,250. Officials warned the number would continue to rise as testing capabilities increase and advised Americans to prepare for a prolonged period of uncertainty. At least 200 Americans have died as a result of the illness.

CA is issuing a statewide, mandatory STAY AT HOME order.

Those that work in critical sectors should go to work. Grocery stores, pharmacies, banks and more will stay open.

We need to meet this moment and flatten the curve together.

Go to https://t.co/xtXFwVeWc2 to learn more.

— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) March 20, 2020

More than half of the U.S. cases come from three states: New York, Washington and California, according to Johns Hopkins data. The number of infections in New York nearly doubled to 4,152 Thursday as the state conducted 8,000 tests overnight, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said.

Mayor plans to release 'vulnerable' inmates from city jails amid coronavirus concerns https://t.co/tXaFqn2gGW pic.twitter.com/sKArp7gLy1

— 1010 WINS (@1010WINS) March 19, 2020

In Washington, Senate Republicans unveiled a stimulus package that includes direct cash payments to Americans and help for businesses and health-care professionals. The proposal, days after a Trump administration plan valued at $1 trillion, would need support from congressional Democrats.