> were the US, Italy, and other more severely affected countries already major travel hubs for people coming from early affected regions? That only played a ro

> were the US, Italy, and other more severely affected countries already major travel hubs for people coming from early affected regions? That only played a role very early on, at the beginning of the pandemic, when imported cases drove spread of the virus. As the pandemic goes on, community spread becomes the dominant factor, so policies that affect transmission can have a huge effect. The most dramatic example of this is China. The virus began there, so they had zero time to prepare. They were more "in the path of the storm" than anyone. There was a major outbreak in Hubei province, and the virus gained a foothold in every major city in the country. But then, beginning in late January, China had an extremely strict lockdown that lasted several weeks. Transmission chains ended, and the prevalence of the virus was brought down to a minimal level. Since then, extensive testing and symptom checks in public have kept the epidemic from resurging, and the government has reacted with immediate lockdowns wherever the virus has resurfaced. Compare that to the US (and many countries, though the US is one of the most extreme examples), where the epidemic has been allowed to continue for months.