They prayed and turned to neighbors. They listened to public health experts on television. They listened to their gut.

As the country lurched toward its first collective counteroffensive to the rapidly escalating coronavirus crisis, the big and small decisions in the mobilization fell largely to nervous parents, wary pastors, incredulous mayors and harried desk workers who waited in vain for clear guidance from federal authorities.

President Trump has declared a national emergency, which he said would “unleash the full power of the federal government” to fight the pandemic. Congress appeared poised to pass a legislative package soon to bring relief to the most vulnerable. But doubts about the federal response have deepened as officials have offered conflicting information, and Trump has played down the threat posed by the virus.

Many large organizations have taken decisive action anyway, instituting telework policies, shuttering schools and abruptly canceling sports seasons. But the steps have been more tentative in other corners, where the information vacuum has left Americans taking less dramatic measures in hopes of retaining a semblance of a normal life.