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COVID-19: Five US states order residents to stay at home

Millions of Americans were ordered on Monday to stay at home as much as possible, as Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Indiana and Wisconsin became the latest states to announce sweeping directives to keep people at home to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

“If we all do our part and simply stay home, we have a shot,” Governor Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan said at a news conference from her office at the State Capitol on Monday.

She cited a study that projected that 70 per cent of Michigan’s 10 million residents could become infected if nothing changed.

Already, she said, the state had gone from zero cases to more than 1,000 in less than two weeks.

Whitmer stated, “This disease can’t spread from person-to-person if we’re not out there. The goal here is simple: Stay home, stay safe, save lives.”

Whitmer, who had exchanged jabs with President Donald Trump over the virus outbreak, said the action was necessary, in part, because of a lack of response from the federal government.

“Without a comprehensive national strategy, we, the states, must take action,” she said.

The New York Times reports that instructions for residents to stay at home would soon cover more than 100 million Americans in at least 13 states, including California, Illinois and New York.

Many states had also ordered all non-essential businesses to close.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, said he would be self-quarantining at home for 14 days after a member of his security detail had tested positive for the virus on Sunday night.

Walz was not experiencing any symptoms, but had been in “close proximity to this individual late last week,” a statement from his office said.

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