Illinois announces stay at home order, following New York and California, putting 70 MILLION Americans under lockdown as the states take matters into their own hands after Trump refused a national coronavirus quarantine

The Governor of Illinois has announced a stay at home order, making it the latest state to shut down after New York and California as President Trump refuses to issue a national quarantine in the battle against coronavirus.

On Friday, NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued a total ban on non-essential businesses and warned there would be strict fines for any businesses that do not comply. It will go into effect on Sunday evening and is indefinite. 

California issued its own stay-at-home order on Thursday night. It applies to all 40 million people in the state who do not work in crucial industries like healthcare services, public transportation, grocery stores, pharmacies, news organizations and internet providers, and is indefinite. 

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced similar measures later on Friday. There were 422 cases of the virus in Illinois on Thursday. 

He announced the fifth death in the state on Friday. The state's stay-at-home order lasts until April 7.  

Officials in all three states have urged people not to panic or hoard groceries or supplies.  

It means that between the three states, 70million Americans are now under stay-at-home orders. 

They are being told to only go out for exercise, to the grocery store or to seek medical care, and can pick up take-out from restaurants - so long as those restaurants can keep themselves afloat. Many have already closed their doors. 

The governor of New Jersey also announced on Friday afternoon that he is likely to 'tighten' the state's social distancing rules tomorrow by a considerable amount.  

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California, New York and Illinois have now ordered all non-essential businesses and services to close their doors to try to stunt the spread of coronavirus. Restaurants can stay open for deliveries and take-out if they are able to stay afloat 

Their actions came within hours of Trump shouting at a journalist in a White House briefing who asked him what he had to say to Americans who were frightened by the pandemic. 

The president has refused to issue a national shut down because some states are not as badly affected by the pandemic as others.

Asked if he would consider it, he said: 'I don't think so. 

'California and New York have done that.

'I don't think so, you go out to the mid-west and other locations and they're watching their television but they don't have the same problem,' he said. 

The economy has already taken an enormous hit and will continue to suffer, with millions going out of work and now having to worry about whether or not they will lose their homes.

In an announcement on Friday, Cuomo hardened the previous rule that 75 percent of the state's workforce had to stay home to 100 percent. 

It goes into effect on Sunday evening - he has not yet specified the time - and it is an indefinite order.  

Work forces that are excluded are grocery stores, pharmacies, certain government workers, food deliveries and restaurants, internet service providers and news organizations.

'Public transport will carry on as usual, but Cuomo did not specify whether cabs, Ubers or Lyft will be forced to stop. 

A full list of the businesses which will be exempt is expected later today. 

Residents will be allowed to go outside and no individual fines will be issued but he encouraged only solitary activities like running or walking.   

'This is not voluntary. It's not helpful hints. We are going to monitor it. There will be civil fines. 

'I am not kidding about this,' he said.

He has not specified what the fines will be but said they will only apply to businesses and not individuals. 

There are now 7,102 cases in New York State.

There are 1,939 new cases in New York City since yesterday, bringing the total to 4,408. 

The total increase in just one day in New York state is 2,950. The hospitalization rate is 18 percent.

White House coronavirus expert Dr. Anthony Fauci spoke around an hour after Cuomo's announcement to say he 'strongly supported it'. 

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Coronavirus cases are rising in America at an alarming rate and experts say it will not peak until April 

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Coronavirus cases across the United States as of Friday afternoon 

Cuomo said he had tried to put off the order but felt he could no longer hold off as the number of cases continued to rise.

'These actions will cause businesses to close. They will cause much unhappiness. I understand that. 

'I've spoken to my colleagues around the state, there's a spectrum of opinion. Some people say we don't need to do this, it's going to hurt the economy. Just so we're all clear - this is a state wide order. 

'It's not what your county executive is doing, your mayor, it's not what anyone else but me is doing. I accept full responsibility. 

'If someone is unhappy and wants to blame someone or complain about someone - blame me. 

There is no one else who is responsible for this decision. 

'I've been in public service for many, years, managed dozens of emergencies, the philosophy that always worked is prepare for the worst and hope for the best. 

'That is what we're doing. 'In 10 years, I want to be able to say I can say to the people of New York that I did everything I could do. 

'This is about saving lives and everything we do saves just one life, I'll be happy. This is science and math. Watch the number and trajectory. 

'You have the density control valve. If the number doesn't slow down, tighten the valve more... then close the valve. We're closing the valve.

'Everybody has personal freedom and I'll always protect that....but everybody also has a responsibility.

'We're all in quarantine now. We're all in various levels of quarantine,' he said.  

California Gov. Gavin Newsom said he could not sit back any longer and watch as the death toll and number of cases in his state continued to rise.  

Already more than 1,000 Californians have been confirmed as infected and 18 have died, the third largest death toll in the United States behind only Washington state and New York.

California is home to some 40 million people, including an estimated 108,000 homeless.

New Jersey's Gov. Phil Murphy announced new figures at a press conference on Friday where he said he too was considering tightening rules. 

There are now 890 cases in New Jersey. 

Eleven people have died. The new numbers represent a jump of 155 cases and two deaths.

Gov. Murphy told journalists at a briefing on Friday that they would likely make another announcement on Saturday. 

NJ Gov. Phil Murphy said on Friday that New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Connecticut will need $100billion in direct cash assistance from the federal government. 

'We're at the front lines with the healthcare workers who are going through hell right now and the small businesses. 

'We are filling that void but this is really expensive - the meter is running,' he said. 

Gov. Pritzker said that he did not take the decision lightly either but that he felt compelled to act after consulting experts. 

'As this epidemic has progressed, we've had to make some hard decisions. I'd like to take a minute to give you a window into my decision making. 

'I've relied upon some of the best medical experts and modelers to help me understand what the progression of this disease will look like. 

'What action can I take to save the most lives? They've come back with one inescapable conclusion - to avoid the loss of potentially tens of thousands of lives. 

'We must enact an immediate stay at home order,' he said. 

He spoke at a press conference with Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot who urged residents to heed the warning. She said it was not a 'lockdown' and that no one would be punished by it with martial law, but that it must be followed. 

President Trump previously said the federal government was not a 'shipping clerk' and that they must try to find resources of their own.

 

'It's really hard to feel like you're saving the world by watching Netflix on your couch - a successful shelter-in-place will feel like it's all for nothing': Chicago doctor's words of wisdom to Americans at home 

A Chicago doctor on Friday issued some refreshing words of wisdom to frustrated and isolated Americans who are self-isolating: that if the mission is successful, it will feel like it was all for nothing.    

Dr. Emily Landon, from University of Chicago medicine, joined Gov. J.B. Pritzker at a press conference to announce that the state of Illinois was going into shut-down aside from essential services.

She spoke animatedly about the challenges doctors and nurses are facing, and made a plea to Americans to heed the advice, even if it feels like it was for nothing. 

'A successful shelter-in-place will feel anti-climactic. It's really hard to feel like you're saving the world by watching Netflix like your couch. 

'A successful shelter in place means you're going to feel like it was all for nothing. Because nothing means that nothing happened to your family. 

'That is what we're going for here,' she said. 

She also issued some stark information - that the people who will need hospital beds next week do not know yet that they have contracted the virus. 

And that by the time the people who need the beds after them, in two weeks time, need care, there will be no beds left.    

'(The virus) spreads before you even know you have it. Our health care system does not have any slack.' 

She added that it was naive for people who are young and healthy to risk putting older lives in harms' way, saying: 'The healthy and optimistic will doom the more vulnerable.'  

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A movie theater in downtown Oak Park, Illinois, is closed after a "shelter in place" order was given to residents 

 

Trump explodes in anger when asked if he's giving false hope to 'scared' Americans by calling malaria drug a 'game-changer' in coronavirus treatment and ordering 'millions of units' - despite Dr. Fauci saying there's NO proof it works or is SAFE

President Donald Trump angrily attacked a reporter who asked what his message was to 'scared' Americans at an extraordinary press briefing on coronavrius Friday.

He accused NBC News reporter Peter Alexander of 'bad reporting' in an angry tirade which came as he faced mounting questions over ordering 'millions' of units of the drug 'cloroquine' that he said he has a 'feeling' will be effective against the coronavirus.

Alexander - one of whose NBC News colleagues, audio technician Larry Edgeworth, had just died of the virus - asked Trump: 'I guess 200 who are dead, 14,000 who are sick, millions who are scared right now.

'What do you say to Americans who are watching you right now who are scared?

Trump, who listened to the question with hiss eyes down, shaking his head, looked up and erupted: 'I would say that you're a terrible reporter, that's what I'd say.

'I think it's a very nasty question. And I think it's a very bad signal that you're putting out to the American people.  

'The American people are looking for answers and they're looking for hope. And you're doing sensationalism and the same with NBC, and Concast, I don't call it Comcast [NBC News' ultimate parent company] for whom you work. 

'You need to get back to good reporting.

'Let's see if it works.'

That was a reference to the move to order cloroquine, despite Tony Fauci, the country's top epidemiologist, saying at the same press briefing that there was no evidence it worked and that even its safety was unknown.

'We ordered them. We have millions of units ordered,' Trump said, name checking the German manufacturer Bayer, which he called a 'great company.' 

'Millions of units are ordered and we’re going to see what happens,' Trump said. 

Trump and health officials first referenced the drug Thursday as among those having promising potential to alleviate those suffering from the coronavirus – although Trump was immediately contradicted on claims that it was ready for use by Tony Fauci.

Then Friday he called it a potential 'game-changer' and also said: 'Let's see if it works. I happen to feel good about it. Who knows? I have been right a lot. Let's see what happens.'

The president - who has no medical or scientific qualifications - described himself as a 'smart guy' with a good feeling about the drug.

With major parts of the nation including California and New York now on lock-down to stem the spread of the virus, Trump was upbeat on the prospects for the drug, which has been on the market for years as an anti-malarial medication.

'People may be surprised,' Trump predicted. 'That would be a game-changer.' He said the FDA is 'working on it right now.'

'I sure as hell think we ought to give it a try,' said Trump.

'I feel good about it. It’s all it is. Just a feeling you know? Smart guy. I feel good about it, and we're going to see,' said Trump, who does not have a medical or research background.

Trump was vague when asked later if it was for use on the general population or in clinical trial setting. 'We'll use it on people that are not doing great,' he said.

'You know the expression. What the hell do you have to lose?' said Trump, using a line he has offered at his campaign rallies.

'We’ll use it on people who are not doing great,' he said.

'It is not a brand new drug that's just created that has an unbelievable monumental effect that'll kill you. We'll know very soon,' the president said at the daily coronavirus briefing Friday.

'Trump's optimism was immediately tempered by Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, even as he stressed the two were not that far apart.

'There is really that much of a difference of what we we're saying,' Fauci said.

'The president feels optimistic about something, his feeling about it. What I am saying is that it might be effective. I’m not saying that it isn’t. It might be effective,' said Fauci.

'But as a scientist and as we are getting it out there, we need to do it in a way as while we are making it available for people who might want the hope that it might work, you are also collecting data that will ultimately show that it is truly effective and safe under the conditions of COVID-19. So there really isn’t [a] difference, it’s just a question of how one feels about it.'

'Fundamentally I think it probably is going to be safe, but I like to prove things first,' he said. 'It really is a question of not a lot of difference. It's the hope that it will work versus proving that it will work. So I don't see big differences here,' Fauci said, getting a remark of approval from President Trump.

Fauci also cautioned in response to a question that the drug was not known to be effective against SARS. 'The information you’re referring to is anecdotal, it was not done in a controlled trial so you can’t make a definitive statement about it,' he said.

'It was fairly effective against SARS,' said Fauci.

The press briefing saw an angry president repeatedly lash out at being asked questions about his response.

But it also saw him call on his former press secretary Sean Spicer, who now hosts a show on Newsmax TV - although the former Dancing With The Stars contenstant had claimed not to be a journalist.

'In the back, please,' Trump said, not saying Spicer's name, as the president signaled to his former aide that the floor was his.

Spicer asked about small businesses and then about the brewing controversy on Capitol Hill: 'Are you concerned about members of Congress that may have used information they learned on updates to sell stocks and profit off of this?' the former press secretary asked.

On Thursday, ProPublica broke the news that Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr sold off up to $1.6 million in stock holdings in mid-February, as he was receiving coronavirus briefings.

Soon after, the Daily Beast reported that Sen. Kelly Loeffler, a Republican from Georgia, also dumped stocks.

To a lesser degree, both Sens. Dianne Feinstein, a California Democrat, and Jim Inhofe, a Republican from Oklahoma, have been ensnared in the controversy.

Replying to Spicer, Trump first pleaded ignorance - but then indicated he had read the reports.

'I'm not aware of it. I saw some names,' Trump replied. 'I know all of them. I know everyone mentioned. Dianne Feinstein, I guess, and a couple of others,' the president added, name-dropping the only Democrat who's had to answer questions about stock sales.

The next reporter who picked up the ball, McClatchy's Francesca Chambers, pointed out that Burr and Loeffler were being criticized for this - and asked if the senators should be investigated.

'Well, it also includes Dianne Feinstein, you didn't mention her name,' Trump said, after he had just mentioned Feinstein himself.

'Why didn't you mention her name?' he asked Chambers.

His back and forth with media members only went down hill from there.

Later in the briefing, CNN's Kaitlan Collins questioned the appropriateness of Trump lashing out at members of the press corps, citing the Alexander example, during a time of national crisis.

Mike Pompeo, the Secretary of State who berated a reporter with the f-word because he did not like being asked a particular line of questions, was also asked about the president's comments and dismissed the question.

Alexander, not to be deterred, asked a similar question of Vice President Mike Pence near the end of the briefing.

'You're the head of the task force, you've seen the numbers, you've spoken to average Americans, you're a former governor - what do you say to average Americans who are watching and who are scared?' the NBC News reporter asked.

Pence's response was much more calm.

'I say do not be afraid, be vigilant,' Pence answered.

'All the experts tell us that the risk of serious illness to the average American to the coronavirus is low, but we need every American to put into practice the president's coronavirus guidelines, 15 days to slow the spread,' Pence said.

Trump also used the briefing to announce a closing of the U.S. southern border with Mexico, putting it on par with an earlier closer of the norther border with Canada, and a crackdown on illegal immigrants that would see them returned immediately to their country of origin.

America has turned to an isolation policy to restrict the spread of the coronavirus.

'Both northern and southern border – they’re both being treated equally,' the president said during a White House briefing.

'The actions we are taking together with our North American partners will save countless lives,' he said.