LOS ANGELS,  (Xinhua) -- Measures are being stepped up amid a rising caseload of COVID-19 in the United States, with a "stay at home order" issued in California, a southwestern state with a population of some 40 million people, to curb the further spread of the virus.

California Governor Gavin Newsom issued the statewide order that restricts residents' non-essential activities on Thursday, two days after a "shelter-in-place" order was imposed in counties in the Bay Area of Northern California, affecting about 7 million people.

"We are confident the people of California will abide by it, they will meet this moment," he said at a news briefing from the state capital Sacramento, when announcing the unprecedented, sweeping public health order that went into effect immediately.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="650"] A staff member wearing a face mask pushes the shopping carts outside a supermarket in Los Angeles, California, the United States, March 4, 2020. (Xinhua/Li Ying)[/caption]

Newsom said the decision is based on modeling projections that 56 percent of the state population will get infected over the next eight weeks, with a gap of some 20,000 hospital beds for coping with the situation, and with Los Angels, the second largest U.S. city, to be severely hit.

Data released by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at the Johns Hopkins University showed that more than 14,200 cases have been reported by 10:13 p.m. local time (0213 GMT Friday) in the United States with 205 deaths. The tally indicated more than 500 cases were confirmed in less than an hour.

The coronavirus pandemic has so far claimed 18 lives in California, while nationwide, the Washington state recorded the biggest death toll of 74, according to the tally.

The "stay-at-home order," deemed as the most sweeping government public health measure in the United States, came after San Francisco required residents to shelter in place beginning Tuesday through April 7.

In order to curb the spread of the coronavirus, a shelter-in-place public health order was enacted from Tuesday in San Francisco and counties of Santa Clara, San Mateo, Marin, Contra Costa, Alameda, requesting residents to stay at home except for essential activities.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="650"] A woman crosses a street in San Francisco, the United States, March 16, 2020. (Photo by Liu Yilin/Xinhua)[/caption]

San Francisco Mayor London Breed said the measures "are absolutely necessary" to slow the spread of the virus in the community, adding "We all have a responsibility to do our part to protect our neighbors, and slow the spread of this virus by staying at home."

The measures included a ban on all public and private gatherings and a request for social distancing, with the exemptions for essential government funtion and business operations, such as police, fire and health care services, groceries, pharmacies, banks and gas stations.

"We must move aggressively and immediately," San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo told a news conference when announcing the shelter-in-place order. "The time for half measures is over. History will not forgive us for waiting an hour more."

With bans on public gatherings, and the closure of cinemas, theaters, bars, restaurants, and schools amid a growing public health crisis, it is likely that other U.S. states and cities would follow the example of California to take more aggressive measures to prevent the further spread of the virus.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="649"] Local residents wait in lines outside a Costco supermarket in Los Angeles, the United States, March 14, 2020. (Photo by Qian Weizhong/Xinhua)[/caption]

On Tuesday, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said the city is considering introducing measures like those enacted in San Francisco, with decision to be made in two days.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday called for national unity in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic as the state became the first U.S. state reporting more than 1,000 cases.

"Everybody is afraid. Everybody is nervous. How you respond, how you act, this is a character test for all of us individually. It is a character test for us collectively as a society," said Cuomo.

On Wednesday, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) said it will temporarily close its trading floors and start all-electronic trading on March 23.

As anti-virus measures are being toughened in a number of states, U.S. State Department on Thursday raised travel advisory to Level 4, which instructs Americans to avoid all international travels.

According to the Johns Hopkins University data, about 244,000 cases have been confirmed around the world.  ■