East Asian countries were the first to be infected, meaning they had little, if any, time to prepare. And yet many of them are among the countries that have reduced COVID-19 cases to near zero. The difference comes down to attitudes: what role and responsibilities each society attributes to government, and to what extent it expects the community to act as a collective agent of the common good.

In the US, there is a long-standing emphasis on personal freedom. “Small government” is a commonly heard refrain, with many arguing that individuals acting as self-interested participants in markets and in social and political processes will naturally produce positive outcomes. Government intervention – even in the event of a pandemic – infringes on individual rights and, indeed, on the very meaning of being an American. Protests over shelter-in-place orders and mask mandates reflect this view.

Minimizing the Social Cost of COVID-19 — https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/east-asia-covid19-successful-responses-institutional-arrangements-by-andrew-sheng-and-xiao-geng-2020-08

Meanwhile SD reported another triple digit increase in the number of new COVID-19 cases, as 380 new positive tests were recorded Sunday.

Sturgis resident here, the 5 days before the event were much bigger this year than normal because people had the wrong dates and then just kept those reservations instead of switching (or couldn’t switch because the places were full.)… The official count is around 460,000 and I’d say there was another 75-100 thousand the week before.

You Tube comment on a Tectonix video on cell phone migration patterns exiting Sturgis SD