When will the stay-at-home order end?

Written by Jacqueline Slobin and Khang Vuong

Safer-at-home, stay-at-home, and shelter-in-place orders

As the spread of COVID-19 progressed in the United States, many individual states mandated safer-at-home, stay-at-home and shelter-in place orders in an effort to slow the spread of the virus, avoid overwhelming hospitals, and protect vulnerable members of the population. Safer-at-home orders encourage individuals to make an effort to stay home when they can. These orders may allow some nonessential businesses to remain open and are not strictly enforced. Stay-at-home orders mean that individuals should remain at home and only leave for essential purposes, such as buying groceries or seeking medical attention. Under most stay-at-home orders, individuals are permitted to leave the home for exercise outside. Shelter-in-place orders are most extreme and mean you must stay inside your home until given further instruction. 
 

Most states have implemented stay-at-home orders, which are transitioning to safer-at-home advisories as states begin to reopen nonessential businesses. However, some cities in Oklahoma, Delaware, and Georgia temporarily made shelter-in-place orders effective. These decisions have been made by evaluating hospital surge capacity and new infections over several months.