Inslee extends stay-at-home order until May 4

Washington governor Jay Inslee extended the state’s stay-at-home order until May 4. Inslee made the announcement in a televised update on the state’s response on April 2.

The governor did not add any additional restrictions to the stay-at-home order, which he originally  signed on March 23. The order directs all state residents to stay home except for grocery shopping, medical appointments and other essential outings. It also closes all businesses not on a long list deemed essential by the state and businesses that can continue remotely.

“The hard truth is that since I announced our stay home stay healthy initiative, it was just over a week ago, the number of deaths that we have suffered and the number of confirmed cases has roughly doubled,” Inslee said. “And May 4 is absolutely the soonest we possibly could achieve our ends to keep our loved ones safe.”

Washington state has 9,097 confirmed cases of the new coronavirus and 421 have died from the respiratory illness as of April 8, according to the state Department of Health's most recent update.

Though Washington state was the early epicenter in the U.S. outbreak, at least seven states now have more confirmed cases. New York City leads the U.S. in confirmed cases with more than 45,000.