Gov. Inslee Issues Two-Week Stay-At-Home Order for Washington

OLYMPIA (AP) — Washington Gov. Jay Inslee has ordered non-essential businesses to close and the state's more than 7 million residents to stay home unless necessary in order to slow the spread of COVID-19.

The stay-at-home order was issued Monday night and will remain in place through April 6. It expands previous actions taken by Inslee last week that ordered the statewide closure of bars, dine-in restaurants, and entertainment and recreation facilities and banned large gatherings.

Several other states had already issued similar orders, including California and New York. Health officials reported Monday there have been at least 110 coronavirus deaths in Washington state and more than 2,200 confirmed cases.

The Yakima Health District, meantime, issued a similar order Sunday night. As Monday, the health district was reporting 32 confirmed cases of COVID-19.

The city of Yakima is urging local residents to follow both orders. In a Monday night release, Mayor Patricia Byers said people need to adopt a "stay home, stay healthy" mantra to prevent local health care facilities from being overwhelmed.

“The most potent defense against COVID-19 currently available is limiting interaction with other people,” Byers said.  “It is the responsibility of each of us to do our part, follow the orders from the Health District and Gov. Inslee, and help ‘flatten the curve’ of COVID-19 transmissions ..."