California became the first state to issue a “stay at home” order to deal with the COVID-19 crisis with executive order N-33-20 on March 19. Clearly, Gov. Gavin Newsom has taken the threat seriously, but the same cannot be said for citizens. People need to take social distancing more seriously to prevent the spread of disease.

The weekend after the order, coastal cities across Southern California reported countless citizens who were openly defying the order and traveling to beaches. These actions showed a lack of social responsibility. Cities closed beaches and other large tourist attractions on March 24, according to abc7.com.

“Those young people are still out there on the beaches thinking it’s time to party. It’s time to grow up, time to wake up,” Newsom said during a news conference on March 23, according to mercurynews.com.

With the effects of COVID-19 being felt throughout Irvine and all schools transitioning to remote learning, it is time to take social distancing seriously. People should take it upon themselves to avoid crowded places, whether they are beaches, parks or trails. 

Exercise is not an excuse to gather in public places. With the entire world being affected by the virus, people are creating workout videos to help with staying active during quarantine.

“Social distancing makes it even easier to exercise. There are tons of exercises that anybody can do by themselves without going outside at all. No equipment, no partners,” senior Anthony Lu said. “A quick search can reveal hundreds of bodyweight exercises to do during quarantine, so nobody has to be exposed to the people walking or running outside on the sidewalks or parks.”

While no one is expected to stay inside the house all day, everyone should strive to eliminate unnecessary human interaction, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For example, if you are walking in your neighborhood and someone is approaching you on the same sidewalk, simply cross the street and continue walking. 

People still have to shop for food and perform basic tasks for day-to-day life. It is important to maintain as much distance as possible from others. Instead of going to large stores at peak hours, you should strive to shop online or support local restaurants and take advantage of free delivery, decreasing the number of people you come into contact with. 

Simple measures like crossing the street or deliberately shopping online will help the effectiveness of social distancing and hopefully lead to a much shorter time in isolation for everyone.