Can the US actually implement a nationwide lockdown?

• As the coronavirus pandemic forces US states and cities to take action, Americans are wondering if the government will implement a national lockdown.
• California and New York have already enacted strict lockdown measures, and others are following.
• Although President Trump said he doesn't anticipate a lockdown, it may become necessary as the death count rises.
• View more episodes of Business Insider Today on Facebook.

California and New York became the first two US states to enact strict lockdown measures in response to the growing coronavirus pandemic.

As more states and cities look to follow their lead, some health officials have questioned whether the US is doing enough to stop the outbreak.

And many Americans are wondering if the US government has its eyes on a nationwide lockdown.

So is a total national lockdown possible, and what would it take for us to reach that point?

We turned to senior science reporter Aria Bendix for answers.

Is it possible that the US could go into a full, nationwide lockdown?

Despite the aggressive actions taken by California and New York, President Donald Trump has said he doesn't anticipate a federal lockdown in the style of Italy, one of the hardest-hit countries.

But as the death count rises exponentially in the US, Bendix said, such a lockdown may become necessary.

"Almost a week ago, it was limiting public events with more than 500 people. We've seen that reduced to about 250 then now down to 10," Bendix said. "So they'll continue to implement stricter measures as you see cases and the death count rise."

What would it take for the US to get to that point?

"There's no hard and fast line. I'm not sure that government officials even know," Bendix said.

"Obviously right now, we're implementing restrictions on a statewide basis or even on a citywide basis. So it'll be up to individual leaders to determine when either the case count or the death count has gotten too high and we're not implementing the appropriate measures to contain the spread," she said.

"But as we continue to see cases rise, we're just going to have to get stricter and stricter with what we do to try and contain this virus."

What exactly would a lockdown prevent you from doing?

President Donald Trump listens as Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Dr. Anthony Fauci speaks during a coronavirus task force briefing on Friday.

For an example of what a lockdown would look like, Bendix pointed to San Francisco, which implemented a citywide shelter-in-place order on Monday.

"That means that unless someone has an essential need to be outdoors or to get to their job that they can actually be fined or face imprisonment for going outside for an unnecessary reason," she said.

"But they're actually emphasizing that they are going to be compassionate about these rules. We obviously understand these are difficult times. But it's pretty dire straits at this point."

If a lockdown is imposed, will you be fined for going outside?

"We have seen past precedent for it," Bendix said. "In San Francisco you can already receive a fine if you are going out for a nonessential reason like getting to work or walking your pet. In Italy we've seen that you have to carry around, actually, a piece of paper explaining your reason for being outdoors. South Korea has also implemented fines."

"I think ultimately, especially in the US, they're trying to exercise compassion with those types of rules that they do implement," she said, adding that although it's a difficult time and people naturally will want to go outside, "ultimately this is a necessary measure to sort of protect public safety at large."

Under a national lockdown, would there be exceptions for taking pets outside?

Yes, a national lockdown would surely have an exception for taking pets outside, Bendix said.

"They should still make sure to practice that safe distancing of 6 feet from another person, and it should only be just a reason to walk your dog and get back inside if your city has already implemented one of those self-isolating policies," she said.

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