Idaho governor issues stay-at-home order for 21 days amid coronavirus spread

Idaho Gov. Brad Little (R) said Wednesday that he will order residents to remain in their homes most of the time to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus for the next 21 days.

“Idaho is now in a new stage,” Little said Wednesday, according to the Idaho Statesman. “We absolutely have to have this take place.”

The order, like most other state-level mandates, will include exemptions for grocery shopping and outdoor exercise near home.

Workers deemed essential, such as those in the health care and public safety industries, also will be exempt from the order, while all other businesses “must take all steps necessary for employees to work remotely from home,” the order states.

Little’s order also bars nonessential travel and mandates that businesses and government offices cease “nonessential operations at physical locations across Idaho.”

@GovernorLittle issues statewide stay-home order, signs extreme emergency declaration pic.twitter.com/vEEhRsDVDx

— IDAHO.gov (@IDAHOgov) March 25, 2020

Idaho’s seven health districts have reported 98 cases statewide as of Wednesday, with the most recent confirmed cases including a woman in Payette County in her 20s, according to a local CBS affiliate.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D), meanwhile, announced a similar order Wednesday, effective Friday at 11:59 p.m. and lasting for the next two weeks.

We must take bold action to save the lives of Minnesotans. As a former Command Sergeant Major in the Army National Guard, I believe in having a plan – which is why I’m directing Minnesotans to stay at home and limit their movements to essential services. #StayHomeMN pic.twitter.com/W2TAejwnBs

— Governor Tim Walz (@GovTimWalz) March 25, 2020

“The attempt here is to strike a proper balance of making sure our economy can function, we protect the most vulnerable, we slow the rate to buy us time and build out our capacity to deal with this,” Walz said, according to a Minneapolis CBS affiliate. “So significant mitigation that we are going to do for 2 weeks will move us up from 50 percent stopping social interactions to 80 percent stopping of that.”