Colorado governor issues statewide stay-at-home-order
A bottle of hand sanitizer stands next to free lunches for people under the age of 18 outside the Aurora Public Library as branch manager Phillip Challis, back, looks on in an effort to help city resients and reduce the spread of the new coronavirus Wednesday, March 25, 2020, in Aurora, Colo. The new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people, but for some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
A sign encourages young people to pick up a lunch outside the Aurora Public Library as branch manager Phillip Challis looks on in an effort to help residents and reduce the spread of the new coronavirus Wednesday, March 25, 2020, in Aurora, Colo. The new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people, but for some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
A worker carries bags of food to a motorist in a drive-thru line at fast food restaurant to reduce the spread of the new coronavirus Wednesday, March 25, 2020, in Aurora, Colo. The new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people, but for some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
A woman wearing a surgical mask winds her way along the stairs leading from the central bus station as people try to reduce the spread of the new coronavirus Wednesday, March 25, 2020, in Aurora, Colo. The new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people, but for some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
A driver for the Regional Transportation Distirct waves a lone passenger on to a waiting bus at the bus center as the district struggles with a deep drop in ridership because of the spread of the new coronavirus Wednesday, March 25, 2020, in Aurora, Colo. The new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people, but for some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Phillip Challis, right, branch manager of the Central Library in Aurora, Colo., directs a family to free lunches and books outside the facility in an effort to help residents during the spread of the new coronavirus Wednesday, March 25, 2020, in Aurora, Colo. The lunches are offered weekdays from noon to 1 p.m. outside the library. The new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people, but for some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Phillip Challis, right, branch manager of the central library for the City of Aurora, Colo., offers free books and lunches to city resients under the age of 18 in an effort to reach out during the spread of the new coronavirus Wednesday, March 25, 2020, in Aurora, Colo. The lunches are served from noon to 1 p.m. on weekdays. The new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people, but for some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
A closed sign hangs in the window of the Aurora Public Library as city buildings are closed to reduce the spread of the new coronavirus Wednesday, March 25, 2020, in Aurora, Colo. The new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people, but for some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Demolition efforts carry on at the Aurora Mall as essential workers continue to toil in spite of the spread of the new coronavirus Wednesday, March 25, 2020, in Aurora, Colo. The new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people, but for some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
A golfer sets up a chip shot on to a green at Commonground Golf Course that will close Thursday, March 26, as part of a "stay at home" order to reduce the spread of the new coronavirus Wednesday, March 25, 2020, in Aurora, Colo. The new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people, but for some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Boxes of gloves and syringes are seen on a table in a drive-thru site to test for the new coronavirus Wednesday, March 25, 2020, in at Stride Community Health Aurora, Colo. The new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people, but for some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Medical technicians confer with individuals after administering a test for the new coronavirus Wednesday, March 25, 2020, at a drive-thru site at Stride Community Health in Aurora, Colo. The new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people, but for some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
As a medical worker checks paperwork, left, a technician waits with a kit to administer a test for the new coronavirus Wednesday, March 25, 2020, at a drive-thru testing site at Stride Community Health in Aurora, Colo. The new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people, but for some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Medical technicians slide a clipboard with paperwork through the window of a van to a motorist coming in for a test for the new coronavirus Wednesday, March 25, 2020, at a drive-thru site at Stride Community Health Aurora, Colo. The new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people, but for some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
A medical technician inserts a swab into a container after administering a test for the new coronavirus to a patient in the drive-thru testing lane outside Stride Community Health Wednesday, March 25, 2020, in Aurora, Colo. The new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people, but for some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
A shopper unloads his cart outside a Costco warehouse as residents deal with a "stay at home" order to reduce the spread of the new coronavirus Wednesday, March 25, 2020, in Aurora, Colo. The new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people, but for some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
A shopper loads boxes of items into the back of his sports-utility vehicle outside a Costco warehouse as residents are ordered to "stay at home" to reduce the spread of the new coronavirus Wednesday, March 25, 2020, in Aurora, Colo. The new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people, but for some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
The historic Hotel Colorado in Glenwood Springs, Colo., closed its doors on Wednesday, March 25, 2020, in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. The hotel hopes to reopen on May 15, 2020. (Chelsea Self/Glenwood Springs Post Independent via AP)
DENVER (AP) — Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said Wednesday he is issuing a statewide stay-at-home order in an attempt to stem the rapid spread of the coronavirus.
Polis said he is taking this “extreme measure,” effective Thursday until April 11, because the restrictions taken to date haven't been enough to reduce the spread of the virus.
“If we don’t take these actions that we are taking today, and frankly, if you don’t stay home, this will create a much worse economic disaster with greater disruption, greater loss of jobs for a longer period of time,” he said at a news conference.
People should only leave home when they absolutely must, he said, for grocery shopping, to seek medical care or to care for dependents, for example.
Polis said state officials have measured the effect of social distancing restrictions by tracking people’s cellphone location data, real-time traffic information and other such metadata sources.
“The bottom line is, I don’t have the comfort level that the existing extreme measures that we’ve taken to date are enough to buy us the time we need to save lives here in Colorado,” he said.
The order comes after six Colorado counties issued stay-at-home directives affecting nearly 3 million people to help slow the spread of the coronavirus and prevent hospitals from being overwhelmed by patients. The Denver, Aspen and Telluride areas had previously issued stay-at-home orders.
As of Wednesday, 1,086 people in Colorado have tested positive for the coronavirus and 19 have died. The number of people hospitalized by the disease doubled overnight, and about 15% of people who were tested after showing symptoms have the coronavirus, said Polis, who has submitted a formal request for President Donald Trump to declare Colorado a major disaster area.
The governor also said he supported the $2 trillion economic relief deal that was moving through Congress, which would be the largest in U.S. history. The measure would give direct payments to most Americans, expand unemployment benefits and help small businesses pay employees who are forced to stay home.
“When Nancy Pelosi and Mitch McConnell and Donald Trump agree, you know that it’s important,” Polis said.
For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death. The vast majority of people recover.
People did not seem to be taking previous warnings and actions, like the closure of restaurants, seriously, and false information, such as COVID-19 being akin to the flu, has persisted, Jefferson County Public Health executive director Mark Johnson said. He hopes the orders help make people realize how serious the outbreak is.
“This is truly the greatest public health crisis this nation has seen at least since 1918,” he said.
Meanwhile, medical staffers based at Colorado's Fort Carson are being deployed to Washington State to back up doctors and nurses treating coronavirus patients in one of the nation's hardest-hit areas. More than 300 members of the 627th Hospital Center will head to Washington to provide supplemental routine and emergency medical care to help free up Washington providers to focus on detecting and treating patients believed to have been exposed to COVID-19, Fort Carson announced Tuesday.
Within hours of deploying, the unit is capable of establishing a 148-bed full-service hospital even in the most austere conditions, according to The Colorado Springs Gazette. The hospitals can be in customized tents or repurposed civilian buildings.