Perhaps is it because SBH did not see death close enough? With just a few minor cases, the local population did not experience the real harm that the virus can make. Let's just ask the New Yorkers what they think of it, or the families in the mainland (28,000 deaths in France so far).
There is a word that the French authorities like to use since the outbreak: “civisme”, in the sense of “active interest in public welfare” or “the good of the community”. Basically, a call to the general population to respect each other by applying simple protection features such as social distancing, face masks, sanitizers, …
When there is no fear, “civisme” is the only chance to see people acting responsibly. We are just discussing basic respect here. Nothing else.
As the song says:
Plus rien de me surprend sur la nature humaine !
(“Déjeuner en Paix” by Swiss artist Stephan Eicher).