US: California orders residents to stay home over virus

WASHINGTON

California Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered the state’s 40 million residents Thursday to stay at home except for essential travel in a bid to stem the coronavirus outbreak.

"We need to bend the curve in the state of California, and in order to do that, we need to recognize reality," Newsom said during a press conference. "The fact is the experience that we are having on the ground throughout the state of California, the experience that's manifesting all across the United States, and for that matter around the rest of the world, requires us to adjust our thinking and adjust our activities."

Newsom did not say when his order would run out but said it would begin Thursday evening.

He did not throw the force of law behind the directive, saying he believes that Californians will "do the right thing" and abide by it out of a sense of civic duty.

"I don't believe that the people of California need to be told through law enforcement that it's appropriate just to self-isolate," he said.

Grocery stores, pharmacies and banks will remain open as essential businesses during the duration of Newsom's order.

California has 675 confirmed coronavirus cases and 16 deaths, according to the state's official tally.

The wider U.S., meanwhile, has 14,250 cases of the virus and 205 deaths, according to a running count being conducted by Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland.

Newsom earlier Thursday asked the leadership in the House of Representatives and Senate for sweeping federal assistance to assist California in its response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

He also asked President Donald Trump to deploy the USNS Mercy hospital ship to the Port of Los Angeles through September to bolster the state's most populous county's capacity to address the virus.

"This resource will help decompress the healthcare delivery system to allow the Los Angeles region to ensure that it has the ability to address acute care needs, such as heart attacks or strokes or vehicle accidents, in addition to the rapid rise in COVID-19 cases," he wrote in a letter.

The Mercy is currently at port in San Diego, California, about 120 miles (193 kilometers) south of Los Angeles.