Small city-states (Singapore, Hong Kong) with dense urban populations were always more cautious about epidemics. And it's not like no one was speaking about ho

Small city-states (Singapore, Hong Kong) with dense urban populations were always more cautious about epidemics. And it's not like no one was speaking about how unprepared the 'West' has been for years. (Bill Gates' TED talk is making the rounds now that talks exactly about this.) It's not ideology. Not morality. It's simply a matter of cost-benefit analysis. Public health has been put on the backburner for decades, life expectancy was slowly creeping up, people were getting lazy, and the biggest problem was obesity. And even though experts were constantly recommending more spending, more stockpiles, etc. it found no traction in politics. And here we are.