Governors in New York, Washington state, Oregon, Ohio, and California have instituted bans on large public gatherings in an effort to stem the coronavirus pandemic.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has banned gatherings of 500 or more people, a blow to the theater industry as the ban applies to audiences. Broadway theaters, most of which have about 1,000 seats, will suspend shows through April 12.
The governors of Washington state, Oregon, and California have outlawed gatherings of 250 or more people. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine banned gatherings of more than 100 people on Thursday.
“We are in a crisis, so we have to treat it like one,” DeWine said at a press event at which he also said he would be shutting down schools for several weeks.
The measures are meant to slow the spread of the virus to protect health systems from being overwhelmed with cases.
States can ban gatherings, halt travel, and shutter businesses because they have a power that the federal government does not, the police power, to regulate business and day-to-day life. Governors generally have authority to use that power in emergencies. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, for example, cited sections of the California government code that allow him to suspend regulations that could get in the way of responding to emergency situations and to commandeer private resources.
Newsom said that, even beyond the ban on gatherings over 250, individuals at smaller gatherings should voluntarily stand 6 feet apart.
In seeking to limit human interactions to mitigate the damage from the pandemic, the governors are following other countries that are further along in being afflicted. Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced Wednesday that nearly all businesses throughout the country would close, save for grocery stores, pharmacies, and banks. Italy has struggled to contain the countrywide outbreak that has infected over 12,000 people.
“Italy, the European country struck hardest by the coronavirus, has done everything it can to contain and manage the epidemic,” Maurizio Massari, Italy’s representative to the EU, wrote in an op-ed on Wednesday.
Similarly, French President Emmanuel Macron announced Thursday that all schools and universities will be shut down starting Monday, according to France 24.
President Trump announced Wednesday that he will ban travel from Europe for 30 days as the coronavirus outbreak across the EU continues to grow. Yet, he has not yet called for the kinds of “social distancing” measures in place in other countries.
Cases in the United States are expected to grow by the day, according to Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, who said the worst is yet to come. Four people in California have died due to the coronavirus.
“The people in our lives who are most at risk — seniors and those with underlying health conditions — are depending on all of us to make the right choice,” Newsom said.
So far, U.S. health officials have confirmed at least 1,323 cases and over 35 deaths.
