Coronavirus: Five new states issue ‘stay at home’ orders as nearly 100m Americans shelter indoors amid pandemic

Nation's top experts say 'this week, it's going to get bad' as states brace for potential surge in Covid-19 cases

Governors in at least five states were set to issue “stay-at-home” orders on Monday, with nearly 100 million Americans now living under guidelines to huddle indoors as officials sought to battle the spread of Covid-19.

Ohio announced its new orders on Sunday, mandating residents stay at home beginning at 11.59pm on Monday. The order will remain in effect until at least 6 April, Governor Mike DeWine said in a statement.

“We haven’t faced an enemy like we are facing today in 102 years” he said, referring to the Spanish flu epidemic. “We are at war. In time of war, we have to make sacrifices.”

Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker then issued stay at home orders on Monday, closing all nonessential businesses beginning on Tuesday and remaining in effect until at least 7 April.

The state will “always allow all grocery stores, pharmacies and other types of businesses that provide essential goods and services to Massachusetts residents to continue to operate”, the governor said at a news conference.

For many states, the pandemic has caused leaders to implement orders they strongly opposed just days ago.

In Michigan, the governor’s office reportedly informed business leaders ahead of an executive order on Monday that would effectively put the state on lockdown — a move Governor Gretchen Whitmer opposed as recently as Friday.

However, she noted to reporters at the time: “Not having plans to do something right now doesn’t mean at some point we might have to take more aggressive action.”

Local news outlets also reported on Monday that Oregon Governor Kate Brown was likely to issue an emergency order she drafted advising residents to stay at home after telling residents at a news conference on Friday: “Stay home, stay healthy.”

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All 50 states have officially confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus after the US initially faced significant challenges in distributing testing kits across the country.

In West Virginia, the last state to officially confirm a case of Covid-19, Governor Jim Justice ordered stay at home guidelines during a statewide address on Monday afternoon, beginning on Tuesday at 8pm. The orders require residents to stay home unless they are performing essential work, going to and from a place of worship, procuring food and resources or care for friends and family members, among other exceptions.

In an interview with NBC’s Today on Monday morning, US Surgeon General Jerome Adams warned the impact on the country from the coronavirus pandemic would get worse.

“I want America to understand: This week, it’s going to get bad,” he said, adding: “Unfortunately, we’re finding out a lot of people think this can’t happen to them.”

“We don’t want Dallas, or New Orleans, or Chicago to turn into the next New York,” the surgeon general added. “It means that everyone needs to be taking the right steps, right now.”

The US has so far confirmed at least 35,000 cases of Covid-19, as experts suggested the true number of cases in the country was likely far higher. The death toll has meanwhile risen to 371 people.