For now, virus waits outside much of rural Pa.

The new coronavirus that has been seeding sickness around the globe knocks outside the door in many rural parts of Pennsylvania, places like Fayette County, where Spotto Ace Hardware has been a fixture in Connellsville for generations.

“We’re trying to keep things in perspective,” said manager Sam Spotto, 55, whose grandfather opened the store 82 years ago. “I’m not seeing anything extreme yet, but that could change.”

Anything extreme includes a rush to buy things like disinfectant wipes, he said, though sales of the wipes at his store ticked up in recent weeks. About two weeks ago, N95 face masks, usually worn to protect workers’ lungs during dusty cleanups, sold out, and so did Mr. Spotto’s supplier.

The masks provide some protection against viruses. As of Thursday afternoon, there were no reported COVID-19 cases in Western Pennsylvania. By Saturday, there were three — two in Allegheny County and one in Washington County. By Sunday at noon, that number increased slightly to five — four in Allegheny and one in Washington.

Mr. Spotto, like other business owners in Connellsville, is keenly aware of the virus’s spread as he considers what’s ahead for his store and for Fayette County.

Experts who track the spread of infectious diseases say outbreaks usually start in urban areas, where large groups of people live and gather. The understanding of how coronaviruses spread — airborne droplets from a sneeze or cough — has meant canceled public

gatherings, including St. Patrick’s Day parades, concerts, theater events and even schools across Pennsylvania.

“It’s well known that infectious diseases go from larger cities, then work their way out into the suburbs and then into more rural areas,” said William Schaffner, professor of preventive medicine and infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn.

“Very rural folks have encounters with large numbers of folks in closed spaces much less often,” decreasing COVID-19 virus exposure and spread when compared to cities, he said.

But living hours from urban areas is not immunity against COVID-19, Dr. Schaffner said. And it doesn’t give people over age 65, or those who have chronic medical problems, any advantage in reducing the risk of dying from the disease, though most cases are mild.

“Don’t think of it in absolute terms and you’ll be more realistic,” he said.

In a crisis that changes by the hour, urban areas across the country have been banning public gatherings as a way to stop the spread of the disease while urging thorough hand washing and other good hygiene practices.

Planning for outbreaks in rural parts of Pennsylvania is a work in progress.

“We have not heard of a specific plan,” said Lisa Davis, director of the Pennsylvania Office of Rural Health in Centre County. “The rural counties don’t have health departments, so we’ve been reaching out to the small hospitals we work with to see what plans they have in place.”

Fayette County Commissioner Vince Vicites said county government officials were in constant contact with state health and emergency management agencies for information on how to prepare.

“Our emergency management people are on top of this,” he said.

Rural or not, without widespread testing in the U.S. it’s difficult to know the full dimensions of the outbreak, although officials have said that the ability to test is growing quickly.

It’s also difficult to get a fix on COVID-19’s lethality. Early computations put the new coronavirus’ mortality rate at 10 times that of seasonal influenza. But that’s because only the most severe cases are being studied, Dr. Schaffner said. The disease’s full impact won’t be known until all cases are recorded.

Meanwhile, the coronavirus vocabulary is creeping into the language of business owners in Connellsville, population 7,316.

“It’s hand wash, hand wash, hand wash,” said Michael Brazzon, owner of the Clubhouse Pizzeria on West South Street. “We’re definitely thinking about it.”

Vapor X on West Crawford Avenue in late February tacked a 10% surcharge onto its vaping products, many of which come from China. Many manufacturers there closed plants to try to reduce the spread of the virus, which had the effect of slowing product shipments.

“We’re on a limited supply because of corona,” said Ethan Mulhorn, 22, who works at the counter. “We’re having trouble ordering.”

Down the avenue at Bikes Unlimited, owner Ruth Stout said she quickly ordered the shop’s seasonal supply of new bicycles the first week of March, worried that the supplier of the Chinesemade products would quickly run out due to manufacturing setbacks. The store sells between 300 and 500 bicycles annually.

“Once they run out of bikes, that’s it,” said Ms. Stout, 69. “You just never know.”

At the same time, her husband, Gary, took a broader view about the impact of a new virus that’s not fully understood, spreads quickly and has no known cure.

“I sure don’t know about it, and I’m not going to worry about it because we’re helpless,” the 71year-old Mr. Stout said.

He and his wife have been a Trek bicycle dealer for 33 years.

“We’re going to ride until we get the virus,” he said.