Almost half of all Americans have been ordered to stay at home. This map shows which cities and states are under lockdown.

Ruobing Su/Business Insider

• 22 states have issued stay-at-home orders, encouraging isolation measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
• Other metro areas, such as Anchorage, Alaska; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Houston and Dallas, Texas; are also under stay-at-home orders. 
• In total, that brings nearly half of America's population under some form of lockdown.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

As of Thursday, 22 US states have issued stay-at-home orders, asking residents to leave their homes only for essential services such as buying food and medicine.

The goal is to minimize how often people come within 6 feet of one another, thereby reducing the spread of the coronavirus and "flattening the curve," so healthcare systems aren't overwhelmed.

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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• Asian countries risk new waves of coronavirus infections when they lift lockdowns. The same could happen in the rest of the world.

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