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Residents of Washington, D.C., could be jailed for up to 90 days if they violate the city’s strict stay-at-home order announced Monday -- the latest in a series of increasingly tough measures taken across the country to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

“Our message remains the same: stay home,” Mayor Muriel Bowser said in a statement. “Staying at home is the best way to flatten the curve and protect yourself, your family, and our entire community from COVID-19. Many people want to know how they can help right now, and for most people this is how – by staying home.”

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The order says that residents can only leave to engage in “essential activities” such as obtaining medical care, food, working at essential businesses or government functions, essential travel or “allowable recreational activities.”

The stay-at-home order is one of a number of such orders that have been put in place in cities and states across the country to stem the flow of the virus, but many of those orders do not carry significant penalties for individuals. New York’s does not carry a punishment for individuals -- although it does include them for businesses.

The D.C. order, which goes into effect April 1, is much stricter, warning of much higher fines and even jail time for those found in violation.

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“Any individual who willfully violates the stay-at-home order may be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, subject to a fine not exceeding $5,000, imprisonment for not more than 90 days, or both,” the order says.

“We have to enforce orders, or they are worthless,” the mayor told D.C. Council members before she announced the order, according to The Washington Post.

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Similar punishments were also announced Monday by Gov. Larry Hogan for the state of Maryland. California meanwhile threatens up to six month in jail, Michigan threatens up to 90 days, while Oregon threatens up to 30 days in jail. Alaska and Hawaii include the possibility of up to a year in jail for those who break those states' orders.

In Chicago, Mayor Lori Lightfoot last week announced the Chicagoans could face arrest if they broke the Windy City’s stay-at-home restrictions, but did not specifically threaten extended jail time.

"This is an order that’s enforceable by law," she said. "We’re going to give you an admonition. And if you don’t turn right away and head home then you’re going to get a citation. And if worse, yeah, we will take you into custody."

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The move sparked immediate pushback from civil liberties groups. Monica Hopkins, executive director of the D.C. branch of the American Civil Liberties Union, told The New York Post that the organization would be “deeply concerned” if arrests were made.

“When we saw this order, we thought, ‘You want to send them where?'” Hopkins said. “People being arrested for that causes all sorts of problems that are antithetical to the goals of lessening the virus.”

Fox News' Ronn Blitzer contributed to this report.