IMHO this shows how important cultural differences are. In Asia, it is kind of normal to wear a mask in public. At least Europe, not so much. So there is this barrier to overcome.

And then there is messaging. There are still not nearly enough PPE going around for medical professionals, back in february it was even worse. Calling for people to wear masks would have made this situation even worse. Now, this kind comes around to bite officials, it was still the right thing to do, if you ask me.

And then, back in February, Europe had a lot less cases.