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“I can’t just stay in my house because somebody tells me that a disease might impact me,” Mr. Hallstrom said. “I don’t have people in my life that I’m going to infect if I get this disease.”

Ms. Rankin said she planned to mostly stay in, but she, too, would likely gather with friends and family in small groups during the lockdown.

“Three weeks is a long time,” she said.

Others said they would try their best to abide by the orders. Emily Straley, a civil engineer, said she was trying to isolate herself as much as possible to reduce her risk of contracting the virus or spreading it.

“I would feel horrible if I found out I somehow spread it to someone else,” she said.

But as the shelter-in-place orders came into effect, Ms. Straley said she wondered how they would be enforced.

“Having the police enforce something so vague makes me really nervous,” she said. “Are they going to tell people to go home? Are they arresting people or writing tickets? I’m really confused about that.”

Sam Liccardo, the mayor of San Jose, the largest city affected by the shelter-in-place orders, said cities were still scrambling to interpret what kind of gatherings would be allowed and which would be shut down.

“There would be no reason to enforce the order except for some egregious green beer St. Patrick’s Day party that 2,000 of my Irish family members might put on,” Mr. Liccardo said.

“It’s a mandate of common sense,” he said. “We need everyone to recognize that it’s in our collective best interest to stay home for all but the most essential of activities.”

Thomas Fuller reported from San Francisco and Jack Nicas and Kate Conger from Oakland, Calif. Joe Purtell contributed reporting from Richmond, Calif. and Santa Clara, Calif.