I think it's more an East vs. West divide than rich vs. poor or amount of travel. Hong Kong, Seoul, Bangkok, and Singapore have airports with more international passenger traffic than any airport in the US. It's been rehashed a lot but they're better prepared in East Asia because of SARS and MERS.
I also think the West thinks technology or good old fashioned ingenuity is required to save them: see the US shutting down quarantine sites because they though we had solved infectious diseases and the leading discussion regarding contact tracing in the US involves google and Apple instead of hiring a bunch of out of work bartenders to hit the phones. Also, obviously the western societies are generally more individualistic.
I saw a good quote from a leader in Austria or something to the effect of smaller countries need to look around and see what works rather than thinking they need to blaze their own unique trail.