In some places, public officials and private business owners moved with stunning speed. In others, paralyzing hesitancy, defiant bravado or blithe disregard dominated. But by Monday, it was clear everywhere that most of the American economy was grinding to an unparalleled halt and would remain that way for months. California took some of the most aggressive steps to curb the spread of the coronavirus, with San Francisco and its surrounding counties telling residents to “shelter in place” and not leave their homes unless necessary. Primary elections in Georgia, Kentucky and Louisiana were postponed. On the East Coast, Gov. Phil Murphy of New Jersey recommended a blanket curfew from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. for his state’s nine million residents. In New York, owners, waiters, chefs and bartenders arrived for work Monday as if for a funeral, ordered to close by Tuesday morning. On Wall […]