My sense is that it's not even that it's annoying, it's that many people just really don't like to be told what to do.
Or, to put it even less charitably, the USA is now the world COVID-19 hotspot because it turns out that "Give me liberty or give me death" is more than just a catchy slogan.
What’s even uncharitable about that? I think a lot of Americans would agree with you.
I for one will openly admit that I will accept X risk of death rather than Y affront to freedom. Of course, it depends on the magnitudes of X and Y.
(On the other hand, claiming that this is why the US is currently the hotspot seems to be cherry-picking data: the first hotspot was China and the second was southwestern Europe, all places with very different cultures. But, even if we accept your hypothesis that the US has more cases because Americans are culturally more willing to accept a risk of death in exchange for more freedom than Chinese, French, Spanish or Italian people are, there’s nothing _wrong_ with that).
Or, to put it even less charitably, the USA is now the world COVID-19 hotspot because it turns out that "Give me liberty or give me death" is more than just a catchy slogan.