The COVID-19 pandemic

[robdrimmie]

I don't know if this is true in all cultures, I suspect that it is not

It isn't. In very broad strokes, eastern cultures value community over individual, and western cultures value individuals over community [1]. The US is way further on the individuality spectrum than anyone else, which in part leads to hordes of New Yorkers crowding together to watch a  ship enter the harbour, apparently without regard to the fact that is literally a hospital ship coming to increase ICU capacity.

[1] There's lots of writing on the topic. One such piece is: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20170...erent-ways