‘It can’t happen here.’ Coronavirus hits rural America.

Where Americans live can have a lot to do with how they see the coronavirus crisis. In rural areas, there was initially a false sense of security. But that may be changing.

Rep. Vikki Goodwin’s district in Texas took swift action to protect residents from the novel coronavirus in early March. Austin canceled the popular SXSW festival for the first time in more than three decades, losing an estimated $350 million in revenue.

But last week, 30 miles out in her district, which stretches into the sparsely populated Hill Country,...