THESE STATES ARE ORDERING RESIDENTS TO STAY HOME OR SHELTER IN PLACE. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?
Grace Hauck, USA TODAY
States and counties across the nation are cracking down on residents' movements amid the continued spread of the coronavirus.
While some officials are instituting "shelter-in-place" orders, others are calling their directives "stay-at-home" orders. The directives differ by location but generally require residents to avoid all nonessential outings and stay inside as much as possible.
Don't panic, the orders are not "lockdowns." They allow residents to continue performing tasks essential to the health and safety of family and pets. It's still fine to buy groceries, go for a run, walk the dog, pick up medicine, visit a doctor or get supplies to work from home.
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Federal guidelines give state and local authorities leeway in what they consider "essential" businesses during an emergency. But in general, those industries include grocery stores and food production, pharmacies, health care, utilities, shipping, banking, other governmental services, law enforcement, emergency personnel and journalists.
Since each state can designate what is classified as essential, employers must be careful to follow regulations. Civil penalties could result from not following such executive orders.
As of Saturday, here's a look at the latest orders for people to stay home:
- San Miguel County, Colorado, is under a shelter-in-place orderuntil April 3.
- Athens-Clarke County, Georgia, is under a shelter-in-place order until April 7.
- Blaine County, Idaho, is under a shelter-in-place order.
Here's what the new orders look like in each state:
California shelter-in-place order
California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a statewide shelter-in-place orderThursday evening.
Newsom identified 16 critical infrastructure sectors — including those providing food, health care and energy — that will remain open. When asked how long the shelter-in-place order may last, Newsom said it depended on people's behaviors and how well the state is able to contain the virus.
"This is a dynamic situation," Newsom said. "I don't expect this to be many, many months, but for the time being, we are recognizing the next eight weeks" as especially important.
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