Watching how the COVID-19 crisis has unfolded all over the world has been interesting and sometimes alarming. For many countries and individuals, it began with denial or at least an optimistic expectation that it’s not that bad.

For other countries and individuals though, there was an early recognition that this was something to be taken seriously and they immediately took action.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/04/asia/taiwan-coronavirus-response-who-intl-hnk/index.html

This article does a good job explaining some of the reasons why some cultures and individuals find it harder than others to recognize and react quickly to a crisis.

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200409-why-we-find-it-difficult-to-recognise-a-crisis