‘Things are changing quickly’ in Washington to combat COVID-19

All restaurants, bars, recreational facilities, and salons were ordered to midnight Monday in Washington State.

It's the latest step in Washington state to combat the coronavirus.

The situation changes daily and it can be a lot to keep up with. Kim Malcolm talks to KUOW's Paige Browning to get the latest, including:

Grocery stores and pharmacies will stay open, restaurants can still offer takeout service, and deliveries are OK. Outside of that, restaurants, sports facilities, taverns, salons, tattoo parlors, ice cream shops, etc. must close.

They cannot reopen until April 1, by proclamation from Washington Governor Jay Inslee:

“If we are living a normal life right now we're just not doing our job as Washingtonians.," Inslee said Monday. "We need to make changes to our personal and family lives regardless of size."

Also ordered on Monday -- any gathering of 50 people or more is prohibited. Yes that's concerts and church, but also personal events like weddings, Saint Patrick's Day parties, big birthdays, etc.

Governor Inslee is imploring people to stay home. Here's what he says to people over age 70: “Anyone in this category, I want to make a very personal and gubernatorial request to you -- you need to self isolate starting right now."

Local and state government are trying to make adjustments for small businesses to ease the burden.

What could happen next? The last step is basically requiring home isolation.

We are not there yet, but officials in six San Francisco Bay-area counties have issued a shelter-in-place mandate affecting nearly 7 million people. The order -- issued Monday-- says residents must stay inside and venture out only for necessities for three weeks starting Tuesday, in a desperate attempt by officials to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.