People that had no meaning in their lives readily adopted fear of the invisible thingy. It filled that empty space. It quickly subordinated all other competition in the mind as the TV reinforced the idea that everyone was doing the same thing. The maskers went out with their magic masks and stared approvingly at others mimicking the directives. Their love of life and personal relations were now to be sacrificed for the cult and that step is "cremation of care". In effect, they are permanent zombies, awaiting the next instructions. You are not coming back to humanity after this process.