Given that 95% of Covid19 infections are harmless (you don’t get sick, and at worst think you have allergies or a cold), all that number reflects in testing. The more testing, the higher the number. This also mean that when testing a vaccine, 95% of people getting the placebo won’t get sick.
In terms of getting seriously ill, the major factor is age. Countries with lots of babies have a low average age, which is why Israel has the lowest rate of industrial countries, and Italy the highest (and why frum Jews, who tend to have a low average age, find the restrictions especially annoying). You will also note that the increase in deaths due to Covi19 is not substantial (in the US the death rate went from 8 per 1000, to 9 per 1000 – not a big deal), which is why the problems are not the illness but the media-induced panic and the politician-induced economic disruption.