Maybe a deeper issue is that people don't think of it as protecting themselves. When the pandemic first got started in China and my Chinese friends started buy

Maybe a deeper issue is that people don't think of it as protecting themselves. When the pandemic first got started in China and my Chinese friends started buying particle filter masks en masse, it did not feel like they were doing it for the benefit of others. Same with individual municipalities setting up road blocks or requiring quarantine for travelers from other parts of the country. They were just selfishly trying to keep the virus away. In contrast to that, once the pandemic reached Germany, I assumed the government would handle it somehow. Turns out a large part of the government response is just telling people to behave as if they were trying really hard not to get infected.