Valley gears up for statewide ‘stay at home’ order

California Gov. Gavin Newsom issued the nation's first statewide 'stay at home' order.

It took effect Thursday night and asks residents not to leave their homes unless necessary. It keeps essential services open, including grocery stores, takeout, restaurants and more.

All public and private gatherings of 10 or more people will continue to be prohibited. Gatherings with 2-9 people should have social distancing of at least 6 feet, and access to hand washing.

Bars, nightclubs, theaters, gyms and convention centers have been ordered closed, with the goal of encouraging social distancing to slow the spread of coronavirus, and keeping health systems from becoming overwhelmed.

At Ralph's on Cook Street in Palm Desert, the store limited their hours, closing earlier than normal. And even though the store will remain open through the emergency order, some shoppers got one last grocery trip in before the state shuts down.

Many in non-essential industries now are forced to work from home wherever possible.

"I can work from home," said Frank Conway, who lives part-time in Palm Desert. "I have a computer so I'm going to sit there, work from home, take walks around the neighborhood, I guess."

For some, day to day life has already been disrupted.

"The dog park for sure, I went there the other day and there was nobody there," Misty Kane said. "My dogs were kind of upset about that."

But the valley's four-legged friends likely won't be the only ones left lonely.

"People are going to get depressed," Kane said. "They’re going to get really depressed from being alone."

Some people fear the spread of infection.

"It does worry me that I could be one of those people," said Rohit Sachdev. "I don't think it's going to happen."

Others called the statewide lockdown an overreaction.

"It really doesn’t affect the entire population the way it does the elderly," Kane said. She anticipated economic impacts.

"There's a lot of people out of work and a lot of people losing jobs because of this, my sister being one of them," she said.

"It was a great time to fly," said Conway said. "It was cheap as hell to fly here this week, so sorry for the airlines but lucky for me." He's now stocking up on essential supplies.

"Pizza, chips, lots of fruit, vegetables, yogurt," Conway said, adding he remains unsure how long this will last.

READ NEWSOM's ORDER HERE

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