Also Japan at all of 900 deaths despite an early start. Articles have been written about government responses and cultural behaviours, but it feels like there's something with a stronger effect out there waiting to be discovered.

A genetic quirk, perhaps? Or maybe a strain of another coronavirus (a kind that gives 'common cold' type symptoms) that has already swept the region and confers some immunity? Presumably people with the right expertise are looking into this sort of question already, but it seems like a lot of media reports are going off half-cocked. I'm not trying to apologise for European or US governments' handling of the crisis, but countries have all reacted differently and it doesn't look like that strong a correlation between their responses and the outcomes.