Photo via Times of San Diego, a member of the San Diego Online News Association: screenshot of Gov. Newsom announcing statewide stay-at-home order

View the Governor's full speech

March 19, 2020 (Sacamento) -- Gov. Gavin Newsom tonight ordered all Californians to stay at home to stop the spread of coronavirus across the state. Only companies providing essential services may remain open.

He issued the statewide order after public health experts estimated that as many as 25 million Californians will be infected by the virus within two months, making it critical to stop the growth now.

While most will recover and some won't have symptoms, up to 20,000 would likely be hospitalized if nothing is done. That's double the 10,000 bed surge capacity of hospitals statewide, though the state is requisitioning faciliities to fill the gap and working with the private sector to increase the supply of ventilators, which the federal government has failed to provide.