Neither SARS nor MERS made the blindest tangible difference to life in the UK or anywhere else. If they had, then we, as a globe, might have been better prepared for Batflu.
Foot and mouth made more of an impact, certainly as far as travel is concerned.
To say that governments aren't taking it seriously though must be some sort of delusional joke, because they have all but shut down the global economy for what, even now, amounts to a fraction of a percent of the global population.
Let's assume that 10 million people contract it (current official total is 3.6 million, and 5 million people eventually die from it (currently 255,000). That amounts to everyone in Portugal catching it, and Costa Rica or Norway not existing.
So in that context trying to criticise the response is a completely and utterly pointless excercise. Would you or I have done things differently? Possibly, probably even. But we each actively chose not to be in the position to do so.
I remember SARS Ebola etc being on TV
Governments should have taken it seriously sooner ,is the point
the W.H.O told all member states about WN-CoV coronavirus on 4th /5th Jan
11th Jan W.H.O gave comprehensive information to member states about symptoms,testing,management etc
by 25th Jan (3 weeks later) coronavirus was on mainstream TV
30th Jan Chief Medical Officers in the UK raise risk to the public from low to moderate.
31st Jan first 2 cases of coronavirus confirmed in UK
28 days later or so
1st March ,despite the UK having it's thunb up it's arse
we have shat our pot full
2nd March for Coronavirus guidance for clinicians and NHS managers,time to order some PPE
oh dear
3rd Mar UK Gov announces one in five people off work and cancellation of operations etc ,because "Herd immunity"
2 months later where trying to test, track, trace, and isolate
So in that context trying to criticise the response is a completely and utterly justified excercise.