U.S. Needs a National Coronavirus Shutdown, and Fast

If the U.S. had responded nimbly to the coronavirus pandemic, with an aggressive testing regime and tracking patient contacts, as South Korea did, it would have stood a good chance of containing the virus without the need for sweeping shutdowns and extensive social distancing. But that time has passed, and if the U.S. doesn’t proceed with extreme measures, it could quickly find itself looking like Italy, where the virus has devastated daily life and is causing hundreds of deaths a day.

Although the federal government has dithered and downplayed the threat, state and local governments are now taking action. Led by governors such as Ohio’s Mike DeWine and Illinois's J.B. Pritzker — the former a Republican, the latter a Democrat — some states are shutting restaurants, bars and other crowded social establishments where the virus is easily spread. A number of large cities, including Los Angeles and New York, are implementing similar restrictions, even as their governors have been reluctant to extend closures statewide. A number of states and cities are also closing public schools.