Three days after Oregon declared a state of emergency because of the coronavirus outbreak, governor Kate Brown has announced she is banning all gatherings of more than 250 people for two weeks in an attempt to slow the spread of coronavirus.

The declaration comes as California Department of Health issued guidance that all public gatherings should be postponed or cancelled until at least the end of March.

Announcing her state’s measures, Ms Brown called for calm and caution.

“We can’t let fear and anxiety stigmatise people. We are seeing cases across multiple counties and age groups, and in people exposed through different circumstances,” she said.

“It’s time for us all to do what we can to slow its spread and take care of one another.”

Oregon has continued to identify new cases, most recently at a veterans’ home, where two men over 80 years old tested positive. It is not known how they contracted the virus, indicating that community spread may already be underway. Their cases brought the state’s total to 21.

California governor Gavin Newsom, meanwhile, told his state’s citizens that the recommended steps were a matter of life or death.

“Changing our actions for a short period of time will save the life of one or more people you know,” he said in a statement.

“That’s the choice before us. Each of us has extraordinary power to slow the spread of this disease. Not holding that concert or community event can have cascading effects — saving dozens of lives and preserving critical health care resources that your family may need a month from now.

“The people in our lives who are most at risk — seniors and those with underlying health conditions — are depending on all of us to make the right choice.”

California has been in a state of emergency since March 4, a move precipitated by the death of a man who had returned there from a cruise holiday. His was the first death outside Washington state.

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Washington has now reported more than 300 cases of coronavirus; its governor, Jay Inslee, has banned large gatherings in three counties that between them are home to nearly four million people.

Other states and major cities across the US are starting to block public events of their own, including St Patrick’s Day parades in Chicago, Boston and New York.

On the same night Ms Brown made her announcement, President Donald Trump used a televised address from the Oval Office to announce his administration is banning travel from most of Europe by all except American citizens.