It's not just the fact there's 66 million people in a country smaller than Michigan either. The UK is a major transport hub. Heathrow is one of the busiest international airports in the world, both for visitors to the UK and as an international hub. London is one of the world's top tourist destinations. It's also very close to continental Europe, with tens of millions of people travelling between them by train and boat every year. The government's response was badly botched, but a fairer comparison is New York not New Zealand.