Case numbers are mostly irrelevant and don't mean much one way or another. Official case counts vary a lot based on the extent of testing and reporting. If you test more then you find more cases. In the US, the CDC estimated that only about a quarter of infections were ever counted as cases.

What actually matters is the rate of hospitalizations and deaths.

And we're all going to be exposed to the virus anyway. Whether that happens at home or abroad hardly matters.

https://www.medpagetoday.com/opinion/vinay-prasad/94646