Because the world is very big and we're really well insulated from most parts of it. Yeah there are hospitals full of patients in Wuhan, who cares. Yeah I can't go to Rome this year, because those frightened Italians closed shop, even though the plague is only in Northern Italy. Hah, those New Yorkers are losers, they don't even have enough morgues, probably because the constant crime! Damn these irresponsible city dwellers brought death to our doorsteps! Uh, well, Joe the neighbor got well after two day, so fuck these mask-donning gun-fearing science-suckers, don't tell me what to wear, and I won't cover my face, I'm not a Muslim woman!

And so on, and so on. The cognitive dissonance is palpable at every turn, but that doesn't help those who are in its grip. 100+ years ago people blamed that new thing, electricity, for the Russian flu, now people blame 5G. Just as sometimes lovely religious folks blame gays, rock and roll, and video games for everything.

There are very few clear cut things in our world that our brain accepts as such. (The Earth is round? Well, it seems flat to me. An anvil falls down faster than a pillow, so that must be because it's heavier.)