“It is imperative that we act now on pre-emptive measures to slow the spread of this virus,” Abbott said.

In Illinois, with at least 422 cases and four deaths, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot extended the closing of public schools until April 20. Oak Park, a village neighboring the city’s West Side, is under shelter-in-place orders for two weeks, after one case there was reported.

San Miguel County, Colorado, residents Wednesday were told to stay inside until at least April 3, after several critically ill patients and children under 4 years old tested positive.

Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards said “people ought to start preparing themselves” for such a step. Portland, Oregon’s largest city, with about 650,000 people, has drafted but not enacted a shelter order.

The entire state of California fell under a stay-in-place order starting Thursday evening, marking the most stringent U.S. effort yet. The order allows the almost 40 million residents to leave their homes only for items like groceries and essential jobs.

“This is a moment where we need some straight talk,” Governor Gavin Newsom said in a press conference. “As individuals and as a community, we need to do more to meet this moment.”

In San Francisco, Haight Street tourist shops were shut behind metal gates. “We took it all out” was spray-painted on a plywood-covered window, a tip to potential looters. Golden Gate Park joggers and walkers at times took to the middle of the street. A small lake, usually plied by tiny craft from the San Francisco Model Yacht Club, drew only birds.

In Lakewood, New Jersey, police earlier this week cut short two weddings whose attendance exceeded Governor Phil Murphy’s 50-person limit. On Wednesday, Newark, the state’s most populous city, instituted an 8 p.m. curfew. The most densely populated U.S. state has reported at least 742 virus cases and 10 deaths -- including three siblings and their elderly mother -- and Murphy predicted infections would reach “many thousands.”

At a Trenton news conference, Murphy implored young people in particular to avoid large gatherings and resist spring break-type antics.

“It is time to cut the crap,” Murphy said.