Even after Italy and other countries had known the risks, they really did not take drastic measures to contain it until it was too late. There is a pattern here

Even after Italy and other countries had known the risks, they really did not take drastic measures to contain it until it was too late. There is a pattern here - governments don’t move fast when there is this level of uncertainty. China deserves blame for lack of free speech, but rest of their efforts were pretty effective. Don’t expect either of these to happen in a democracy.