CONCORD -- Gov. Chris Sununu issued a stay-at-home order in response to the coronavirus to begin Friday through May 4. He also announced public school students will continue remote learning through May 4.

The governor directed all non-essential businesses that haven’t voluntarily closed to end “in-person and public-interacting operations” by midnight Friday.

Businesses affected by the order include non-essential retail stores, barbershops, hair salons and tattoo parlors, movie theaters, bowling alleys and arcades. The order also encompasses concert venues, sporting events and festivals.

Grocery stores, pharmacies, gas stations, hardware stores, liquor stores, health care facilities, restaurants, news media, manufacturers and even breweries are exempt. Construction will also be allowed to continue.

State beaches are ordered to close at midnight on Friday.

The governor stressed this is not as stringent a measure as a shelter-in-place order.

“It will not prevent you from leaving your home to go on a walk or to the store or if you need groceries or simply going to work,” he said. “But beyond essential necessities you should not be leaving your home.”

“These are tough decisions, they really are, but at the end of the day we know the worst may still be ahead of us and I have the responsibility of doing what is right for the 1.35 million Granite Staters...,” Sununu said. “It will take sacrifice but New Hampshire is resilient and we will get through it.”

Sununu, who was under pressure from Democrats to take tougher action, was careful to say the order was only an effort to align policies put in place by nearby states like Massachusetts.

“This is not a shelter-in-place,” he said. “We are not closing down transportation. We are not closing our borders and no one will be prevented from leaving their home. ... While the spread of COVID-19 has not reached the level of other nearby states, we are putting ourselves in a strong position with these proactive measures to slow the spread of the virus.”

Sununu’s stay-at-home order aligns New Hampshire’s policies with Vermont, Maine and Massachusetts, whose governors have issued similar orders.

Sununu said the borders between the states remain open and no state governor would have the power to close interstate borders.

“We want the folks of New Hampshire to really understand that we don’t take any of these decisions lightly,” Sununu said. “Disrupting daily life in New Hampshire should be something that is done only in the greatest of emergencies. But with the anticipated surge in hospitalizations, now is the appropriate time to take these unprecedented steps.”

The governor said he’s taking this action now to protect those most vulnerable to the coronavirus.

“Those that are 60 or older, those that have complicating health conditions, this virus is real, it is taking lives, we know that the surge is still ahead of us,” he said.

Material from the Associated Press was used in this report. This story will be updated.