Earlier this week, soldiers from the 627th Army Hospital in Fort Carson, Colorado, were setting up folding panels to create cubicles for a new 250-bed field hospital in a major Seattle, Washington, sports stadium. By Wednesday afternoon, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee had announced that the hospital would be dismantled, and the life-saving health-care resources would be sent to other states that need them more.

In the battle against the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19, that was the second time in just a few days that Washington’s governor said he had more help than required. On Sunday he announced he’d also be returning more than 400 ventilators to the Strategic National Stockpile so they could be sent elsewhere.

As the rest of the nation grapples with a rising death toll and the surging spread of coronavirus, early actions appear to be working in the state where the virus first surfaced in the United States.

Both of Inslee’s decisions come on the heels of a projection by modelers at the University of Washington that the state may well have hit peak demand for hospital resources, such as intensive care unit beds, on April 2. That was two weeks after the state shut down public schools and restaurants, and 10 days after the governor ordered residents to stay at home.

Early coronavirus actions appear to be working in Washington state https://t.co/nQXDX4z9W6 via @NatGeoScience

— Creative Media Times (@cmediatimes) April 12, 2020

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Never before had the Olympic Games been postponed or canceled for something other than war, but rarely has the world come to a grinding halt the way it has over the novel coronavirus.

What felt like the last major sporting event untouched by the current strain of the coronavirus — known formally as COVID-19 — the 2020 Olympics served as a glimmer of hope for the entire globe. But on Tuesday, Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach agreed to postpone the Tokyo 2020 Olympics by about one year.

The opening ceremony had been planned for July 24.

Despite the postponement, the Summer Olympics — when they eventually happen — will still be called the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020. The Olympic flame will also remain stored and displayed in Fukushima.

“Dear Fellow athletes, you can be sure that you can make your Olympic dream come true.” – IOC President #StayStrong #Olympics #Tokyo2020 https://t.co/XNcaa4Gvx8 pic.twitter.com/cRKXtbGxeF

— The Olympic Games (@Olympics) March 24, 2020

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US wine-and-spirits producer Pernod Ricard announced Wednesday that the company would convert all its distilleries to produce hand sanitizer, which it will then donate.

The company — which makes drinks such as Absolut Vodka, Jameson Irish Whiskey, and Malibu — is converting its facilities in Fort Smith, Arkansas; Smooth Ambler Spirits, in Lewisburg, West Virginia; Rabbit Hole Distillery in Louisville, Kentucky; and Texas Whiskey Distillery Ft. Worth, Texas.

Fighting the coronavirus is a nationwide effort, and the production of hand sanitizer is a clear example of that effort as distilleries across the US start to alter their production lines to help make more of it during the nation’s massive shortage.