Inslee orders Washingtonians to stay at home to slow spread of coronavirus

To combat the novel coronavirus, Gov. Jay Inslee is ordering Washington residents to stay at home, except for crucial activities.

Residents can still leave to buy groceries, seek medical care and go to work at essential businesses, Inslee said in a live televised address Monday evening, and they can still engage in outdoor activities that can be done 6 feet away from others, such as walking and biking.

But the new order requires the closure of nonessential business places and, the governor said, “is enforceable by law,” though broad crackdowns by officers aren’t expected.

“This is a human tragedy on a scale we cannot yet project,” Inslee said of the pandemic. “It’s time to hunker down in order to win this fight.”