> people have been flying back to the states with infections spread out over the entire country while cross-border spread has been much more localized in italy

I still don't see the difference? Why do you think that the cross-border movement of the disease should be different in Europe compared to the US? Why do you think that the US should be worse off, if that is your point? Do you think people more fly back to the US compared to the people moving from country to country recently in Europe in the last period (including Italy)? Are you aware of how Europe functioned up to now? Many people worked in other countries, and they typically don't even have to fly to achieve that, especially not across the ocean.