States Rally in Effort to Confront Coronavirus.

• Author: Nicholson, Haley

Coronavirus is wreaking havoc on people and markets worldwide.

Known as COVID-19, the virus was first detected in China last December. By press time on March 10, it had infected nearly 114,000 people and caused more than 4,000 deaths worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. By then, China reported a declining number of new cases but had suffered 78% of the total virus-related deaths and 71% of the infections.

In the United States, there were nearly 650 confirmed cases in at least 36 states, with 25 deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A majority of the cases were in California, New York and Washington state.

The Trump administration declared a public health emergency on Jan. 31, allowing states to reassign state, local and tribal personnel to fight the virus. And on Feb. 29, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave approval for states to begin doing their own testing. Scientists continue to work on a vaccine, but that can take time.

Meanwhile, as state and local health departments worked with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, federal authorities and others, state lawmakers were getting involved, too.

In Florida, five House members self-isolated in early March while awaiting test results. They all had been at an event attended by someone who later tested positive for the virus. Florida Speaker Jose Oliva (R) assured his House colleagues that chamber desks and common areas would be sanitized to provide a reasonable assurance of cleanliness.

Some states began preparations early. California, for example, activated the Department of Public Health's...