Deluding themselves into believing they are going to be limited to isolated breakouts they can control and thereby control the panic and (most importantly from their perspective) the economic fallout. Also they seem to believe that telling a population like that of the United States to prepare for local outbreaks is somehow going to prepare a distracted population to deal with what is happening in China is going to be a productive exercise.
I get trying to be professional but sheesh, someone official needs to say in no uncertain terms to the US population, that this is coming, it’s bad and you need a months worth of food.
I know any can’t do a month, but I know many who can and this is not even on their radar because everyone is acting so cavalier