Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly answers questions from reporters in Topeka, Kanas, on March 15. John Hanna/AP

Gov. Laura Kelly has issued a stay at home order for the state Kansas beginning March 30 at 12:01 p.m. in order to contain the spread of Covid-19.

At a press conference this afternoon, Kelly said the order would provide more consistency and stability across the state.

“As we speak, well over half of Kansas’ population falls under a local stay at home order of some kind. Even without the executive order I'm issuing today, Kansas’ most populous counties have already issued local state orders to their communities," Kelly said. “As governor, I left these decisions to local health departments for as long as possible. But the reality is that a patchwork approach is a recipe for confusion in our statewide fight to slow the spread of coronavirus that statewide uniformity will ensure. We're all playing by the same rules, and it would help prevent an influx of new cases for local health departments, many of which are already stretched to max.”

Kelly said the step is also being taken now to continue to slow the spread of Covid-19 in Kansas, as hospitals are preparing their facilities for the inevitable surge of patients, “But we're simply not ready for what we anticipate will be the peak of this pandemic.”

By the numbers: Kansas currently has 202 people who have tested positive for coronavirus; four people have died from it.