Gov. Gavin Newsom on Sunday called for 5.3 million senior citizens and others at risk to stay home in an effort to slow the spread of coronavirus.

The call for home isolation also extended to people with chronic conditions that make them vulnerable to the virus.

The announcement raises many questions for senior citizens. For those who live alone, they will have to grapple with getting shopping done. For others, it will be a radical change of life with no firm idea of when the restrictions will end.

We recognize that social isolation for millions of Californians is anxiety inducing but we recognize what all the science bears out and ... we need to meet this moment head-on and lean in, Newsom said Sunday.

He said plans are being made to help carry out the sweeping directive.

We are prioritizing their safety, Newsom said.

He also urged family members to take care around the elderly and frail:"People should conduct themselves around their grandparents as if they have it. Newsom said.

Officials have long said senior citizens and the frail are at highest risk. Counties in California have already banned those groups from attending many types of public gatherings.

Those at higher risk include those over the age of 70 and with underlying medical conditions such as diabetes, obesity, asthma, disease of the heart, lung or kidney and those with weakened immune systems. If someone who falls into one of those categories does get sick, early diagnosis is important to allow more time to treat the patient, which may include putting the patient on oxygen or, when necessary, a ventilator to help them breathe if their lungs begin to fail.

Experts have been urging protections against high-risk groups. The key is keeping this virus away from nursing homes, long-term-care facilities and elderly people whose lungs cant recover from this, Dr. Jeremy Faust, an emergency physician at Brigham and Womens Hospital and instructor at Harvard Medical School, said last week.

As of Saturday, here is a breakdown of the age of California coronavirus patients:

0-17: 4 18-64: 143 Age 65-plus: 98 Unknown: 2

The Centers for Disease Control urged seniors in areas where there is community spread of coronavirus to stay home as much as possible and consider ways of getting food brought to your house through family, social, or commercial networks.

Among other tips:

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California calls on millions of senior citizens to stay home because of coronavirus. What you need to know - Los Angeles Times