Los Angeles County has ordered the closure of all malls, shopping centers, playgrounds and nonessential retail businesses in its latest attempt to stem the spread of the new coronavirus.

The public health order, which went into effect at 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, also prohibits all indoor and outdoor public and private gatherings within a confined space of 10 or more people.

An emergency order from the city of Los Angeles prohibited gatherings of any number of people outside the home, and restricted operations of businesses that required in-person attendance by employees.

Pasadena and Long Beach both have their own health departments and simultaneously announced similar orders as the county.

Not long after the countywide announcements, Gov. Gavin Newsom followed suit, issuing similar stay-at-home orders statewide. Officials hope that the unprecedented orders will stop the flow of the deadly COVID-19, prevent hospitals from being overwhelmed by those diagnosed with the virus and save scores of lives.

Residents are still allowed to go outdoors and partake in activities like hiking and walking; they can also shop at essential businesses, such as grocery stores, and restaurants offering delivery, drive-thru or takeout service, according to the order.

A previous directive from the county only applied to bars, restaurants and fitness centers. Other businesses were asked to close, but not forced to.

The announcements came during a joint press conference on Thursday with L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti, District 5 County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, Pasadena Mayor Terry Tornek and Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia.

Garcetti has been working on the plan with Barger, according to Branimir Kvartuc, a spokesman for Los Angeles City Councilman Joe Buscaino, who supports the move.

Garcetti took issue with the “shelter-in-place” language used in other cities, including in New York and seven counties in the Bay Area, Kvartuc said.

Ultimately, they settled on the phrase “safer at home,” Garcetti said during the press conference, chiding the use of “shelter-in-place” by other cities and counties across the state.

“This is not ‘shelter-in-place like a school shooting,” Garcetti said. “This is ‘stay at home’ because you’re safer at home.”

Garcetti pointed to the current data from countywide tests, indicating the rate of infections within Los Angeles showed a similar trajectory as Italy where the healthcare system is overwhelmed.

“We are trying to intervene earlier and we’re trying to be one of those countries where the curve starts to fall,” Garcetti said.

The announcement follows similar moves from counties in the Bay Area and across the state, though those were called “shelter-in-place.”

Businesses allowed to stay open include first responders, grocery stores and certified farmers markets, financial institutions, caregivers, mail services and restaurants serving takeout and delivery orders, among others. News media was also exempted. A full copy of the order is at the bottom of this story.

“This is not going to be Italy where they’re arresting people on the street for being outside,” Tornek said in a phone interview. “But there has to be real rigor to interrupt the expansion of this virus.”

While Tornek was reluctant to support the order, calling it “crude” and citing unwanted damage to the economy and further interruptions to individual lives, “there doesn’t seem to be an alternative.”

City managers from across Los Angeles were on a conference call with Los Angeles County Health Department officials Wednesday afternoon, discussing details of the order, according to representatives from multiple municipalities, including El Monte City Manager Alma Martinez and Pasadena spokeswoman Lisa Derderian.

During Wednesday’s midday briefing, Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer was asked whether the county would institute a shelter-in-place order.

“I appreciate the language,” she said, arguing a more significant order wouldn’t be necessary because “we’ve closed down just about everywhere people can be social with large groups of people.”

As of Thursday, there were 231 people countywide identified with having tested positive for the new coronavirus, which leads to a sometimes fatal respiratory disease known as COVID-19. Two people in the county have died from it, including one announced on Thursday. Officials said the patient lived in the Pasadena area, but not in the city itself.

Staff reporters Hayley Munguia and Elizabeth Chou contributed to this story.