You make a series of assumptions in your post that don't appear to be supported by facts.
First a straw man about efforts that can't be kept indefinitely - no one proposes unsustainable restrictions.
A temporary lock-down can essentially eliminate community transmission.
The evidence is from China itself, they have controlled the disease to the point that their death rate is ~
200 times less than the US, the UK or Sweden.
And that includes deaths from the mishandled, early phase of the outbreak, current rate seems to be essentially zero.
Similar results from the other extreme of the spectrum, New Zealand, so it looks broadly applicable.
Second, the assumption is that restrictions will cause "a total collapse of the economy"
The evidence is clearly to the contrary, I posted in the economics thread but for those that missed it.
View attachment 84275
Countries that imposed restrictions early and effectively have
better economic outcomes.
As well as less deaths and sickness.
Finally, it is a false dichotomy (
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_dilemma) to criticise unsustainable efforts and therefore imply that the alternative is the abolition of restrictions.
The choice is not between restrictions and economic slow down versus no restrictions and no slow down.
Once the virus is widespread people restrict themselves anyway and the slowdown is even worse and almost certainly more sustained because it takes so much more time to control a widespread outbreak.
The McKinsey corporation have done an analysis of this
https://www.mckinsey.com/industries...ousands-of-lives-and-trillions-in-livelihoods
The fact that such extremes as the Chinese Communist Party and the very capitalist McKinsey Corporation reach the same conclusion makes me think it's probably true, not the result of their, obviously very different, preconceptions.
So, yes, no one wants restrictions but they seem to be the
least worst response.
They have worked for us in Australia
We had an outbreak from a quarantine failure of returned travellers, after we had eliminated community transmission.
Almost entirely in one state, and now almost back under control.
View attachment 84281
So control looks doable without economic disaster or tyrannical restrictions.
The states that controlled earliest also opened sooner, with less economic downturn and less disruption of peoples lives.
No cases in my own Territory (statelet) for months, life is almost normal.
Best wishes
David