Californians are on the verge of being trapped in California as the state is now urging residents to stay home and telling visitors to stay away. Under a new travel advisory issued in hopes of curtailing the spread of the coronavirus, the California Department of Public Health is telling Californians to not travel more than 120 miles from home.

Travelers from other states or countries are “strongly discouraged” to visit the Golden State except for essential purposes.

The Advisory states that “Postponing travel and staying home is the best way to protect yourself and others from COVID-19.”

As for what the state defines as essential, that would be a trip “associated with the operation, maintenance, or usage of critical infrastructure or otherwise required or expressly authorized by law … including work and study, critical infrastructure support, economic services and supply chains, health, immediate medical care, and safety and security.”

So, any travel associated with recreation or tourism is now in the “strongly discouraged” category.

State officials have asked that all visitors or people returning to the state self-quarantine for 10 days after arriving except “as necessary to meet urgent critical healthcare staffing needs or to otherwise engage in emergency response,” or if they “routinely cross state or country borders for essential travel,” according to the advisory.

The new measures are likely due to the expected rise in cases following holiday travel and social gatherings. Los Angeles already has a mandatory quarantine order and an online form that travelers and visitors must fill out.

Despite the strictest lockdown measures in the country, California continues to lead the nation in the number of coronavirus cases with close to 2.6 million confirmed to have contracted the virus. The next closest state in confirmed cases is Texas with 1.9 million.

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