Deploying the National Guard to New York’s coronavirus outbreak epicenter in New Rochelle. Banning gatherings of more than 250 people in the Seattle metropolitan area where COVID-19 has killed 23 people.

From coast to coast, public health officials this week intensified efforts to contain the virus spreading across the U.S., with more than 1,000 confirmed cases as of Wednesday morning.

In New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo ordered schools, houses of worship and other large gathering places in a portion of New Rochelle and neighboring communities to temporarily close, targeting one of the country's worst COVID-19 clusters with more than 100 cases.

The strategy involves creating a "containment area" of a one-mile radius around the Young Israel synagogue at the center of the cluster, about 20 miles north of New York City in Westchester County.

Any large gathering places within that containment area will be required to shut down through March 25, Cuomo said, and the National Guard will aid residents under precautionary quarantine and help disinfect public areas.

Two public health experts described the containment area as a logical step in the ongoing attempt to stop the spread of COVID-19.

Yet the differences between coronavirus outbreak responses in New York and Seattle, in many ways, underscored the lack of guidance from the federal government, one expert said.

“What’s happening is all over the country we’re seeing governors, mayors and public officials really scrambling to try to figure out what to do,” said Dr. Irwin Redlener, director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University.

“We have not been getting sufficient guidance from the federal government,” he said. “There is a lot of confusion about what it all means.”

More: How a New Rochelle synagogue is coping as an epicenter of the U.S. coronavirus spread

More: Containment area in New Rochelle because of coronavirus: What you need to know

Much of Redlener's and other public health experts' criticism of the federal government is focused on delays in ramping up COVID-19 testing, a crucial element in determining outbreak containment efforts.

Speaking on a cable news program, Cuomo on Wednesday suggested the federal government’s handling of COVID-19 may turn out to be the "public-health version" of the response to Hurricane Katrina nearly 15 years ago.

More: What to know about COVID-19 test priority rules in New York

While supportive of Cuomo’s plan to focus on a portion of New Rochelle, Redlener said it could soon be necessary to pursue an even larger containment area and new quarantine orders as the number of cases grows.

Meanwhile, the COVID-19 response in New York and the U.S. so far stood in stark contrast to Italy, where a nationwide lockdown is in place as confirmed coronavirus cases jumped past 10,000. The death toll stood at 631, second only to China.

Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte this week said he will consider requests from Lombardy, Italy’s hardest-hit region, for a shutdown of nonessential businesses and public transportation on top of travel and social restrictions already in force.

Redlener described the lockdown measures in Italy as draconian and urged New York officials against pursuing similar extremes, citing the potential for unintended consequences such as closing low-income schools that provide free and reduced meals to millions of children.

“I don’t think we need to be replicating what is going on in Italy,” he said, adding the U.S. response in part requires more consistent and standardized infectious disease controls headed up by the federal government.

Dr. Aaron Glatt, the hospital epidemiologist at Mount Sinai South Nassau Hospital, noted New York’s outbreak battle in many ways hinges on clear communication from government officials and public participation.

“We need to make sure what the recommendations are from the Department of Health and we should follow them as best as possible,” he said.

Glatt added people should also think often about “what common sense says to do,” such as staying home when ill and washing hands regularly.

New Rochelle Mayor Noam Bramson said Wednesday he will rely on the state's health experts on what is best for community and carry out their directives.

"I don’t have any independent public health expertise," he said.

"And the right thing for me to do is to take guidance and direction from the people who do have that expertise."

USA TODAY contributed to this report

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David Robinson is the state health care reporter for the USA TODAY Network New York. He can be reached atdrobinson@gannett.com and followed on Twitter:@DrobinsonLoHud