Why are states that don’t have stay at home orders and haven’t closed non essential businesses seeing some of the lowest fatality rates?

People make the mistake of assuming that "stay at home" order necessarily means people in a state are practicing more social distancing than in states that don't have such orders.  That's not at all true.

As others have already pointed out, "stay at home" orders don't actually require people to stay at home.  Even people who are remote working from home can leave their home every day and go to crowded venues so long as they can argue those venues are "essential", so stay at home orders do not enforce social distancing.

People playing golf or walking in a nature preserve in Iowa (no stay at home order) are spreading the disease much less than someone in NY (stay at home order) taking the subway to Costco.  

Getting people to comply with a stay at home order doesn't help if they are still going to crowded venues often.  It's getting people to practice social distancing that matters.  A lower population density of course makes social distancing easier.  

Even a 3rd grader knows staying home sick prevents spreading illness. The places closed are higher density populations. I've given you enough dots, can you connect them?

Because those states tend to have the lower populations. Less people, less virus.

Because the peak of their infection curve is still in their future rather than in their present.

They are not states that are travel hubs and less densely populated.

for now. Just wait.

Despite the name, stay at home orders don’t actually force people to stay at home.   I can walk my dog on a crowded street and go to a busy grocery store every day if I want.   

Meanwhile my brother in a Nebraska, where they have no stay at home order, hasn’t been to a store in weeks but plays golf, maintaining a 50 yard or more distance from anyone and walks his dog at a nature preserve where people also maintain distance.   

It’s flawed to think my brother is at more risk of catching or spreading the virus.   

Is that really true? Or Libertarian propaganda? 

You’re looking at the matter upside down. They haven’t closed everything because they don’t have it too bad. Surely you are not suggesting that isolation and masks and stuff are CAUSING deaths?? Remember about 10 minutes ago when Mississippi wasn’t going to close? Now it’s officially a disaster area.

It's all about attitude. Stay at home order is more voluntary, again it's attitude.
If these orders are enforced, you can imagine the chaos that will happen.  Panic to include panic buying, hoarding, etc.  We can't even have a peaceful black Friday sale without all the madness and fighting at the stores, and this is just for one day.

Numbers can be skewed.

There not. There smaller states. They have been told to keep mouth shut.