Hi, definietly it should be, but please note GLOBE distinction between institutional individualism-collectivism and family ind-coll. Giving my personal observation, I would see family ties as modifing factor. One issue is following governmental rules (and it could be explained by trust in the government) and another is to contacting with people, especially from own families. This last makes isolation harder as people cannot resign from visiting firends and relatives (see Italian case).

Preprint COVID-19: airborne transmission and social distancing policies

I would guess, from the way you articulated the question, that „values”, mainly political values might be the first choice for a possible answer. Also, lifestyle, as Magdalena aptly suggested. But I would argue that any cultural explanation is as good as all cultural explanations, i.e. it only works when other major parameters are comparable (or can be normalised somehow): density, number of rooms, number of apartments, financial independence etc. Take for example Italy and Sweden, 60 mil vs. 10 mil inhabitants, share of young adults living with their parents 66% vs. 24%. ( http://appsso.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/nui/show.do?dataset=ilc_lvps08& ), late lockdown vs no lockdown. So, I suggest that any sort of comparison might work better in between similar countries (Italy-Spain, France-Belgium, Norway-Sweden) or regions/cities and that there is a risk in tackling large cultural objects like Asian-European, North Europe-South Europe, even young democracy-old democracy. For my area of research - Roma communities living in extreme poverty - the answer is a bit more simple, gregariousness is not so much or primarily a cultural trait, but a response to everyday challenges and to structural inequalities. But, as the complexity increases with the size of a social group, we are left to wonder if cultural practices are to blame for the conformation to norms (specifically quarantine and distancing) or it is still very much about space and economy that leaves so little choice to many individuals, regardless of their culture. Best, CB

1. Maybe, this research can help to shed light on the answer https://www.researchgate.net/publication/340497210_Mandated_Bacillus_Calmette-Guerin_BCG_vaccination_predicts_flattened_curves_for_the_spread_of_COVID-19

2. What kind of collectivism or individualism? Or is the prevalence of certain values? It is comparable the cases of New Zealand (individualist), China (collectivist) or another successful countries?

Individualism and collectivism as an either/Or category is highly contested construct. There is evidence that Individualism-collectivism orientation is influenced by many social factors such as gender, socio-economic conditions, levels of education etc. Moreover, manifestations at the individual level in the form of independent or interdependent construals can co-exist to varying degrees within individuals in both individualistic and collectivistic settings ( Singelis 1994).

In one of my research (Under review) on social distancing in India, we found that all the participants have strongly endorsed social distancing behavior despite the fact that India has been traditionally considered a collectivistic nation.

Answer deleted.

Juan Manuel, although individualism and collectivism may be used as constructs to try and understand the extent to which some people in certain parts of the world may be more attuned to observe social distancing protocols than others, there could be other constructs within and beyond culture that may also help in exemplifying the complexity of why such observance could be problematic. Factors such as the socio-economic demographics, the physical layout of structures, the availability or otherwise of adequate transportation, housing, health and related facilities of the observed population could be considered in explaining why social distancing may prove difficult in some instances. The ideal situation is one of observance if everything else had been equal.