I thought I had illustrated the point in my post. So many businesses in my area either close completely or all but close. Health professions other than critical care are simply putting patients on hold: Dentists, orthopedic clinics, physical therapists, allergists, dermatologists, etc.
Retailers - other than grocers - furlough staff and turn off the lights. Education has already commenced summer break even before spring break. Public recreation areas are fenced off. Summer camps are cancelled. And I don't need to tell you how the restaurant, theater and cruise industries have cratered.
And yet, we are told that a handful of very achievable precautions regarding sanitation and separation will mitigate the progression of the disease. Wipe down touched surfaces, minimize gatherings and keep folks apart, wash your hands, contain your coughs and sneezes. That's pretty much it, and it's hard to believe that all those shuttered shops couldn't have managed those few simple procedures.
Of course, perhaps it really does take much more to arrest this disease than cleanliness and ordinary good manners. In which case, the plague will spread anyway, untold thousands will die anyway, and all we've done is destroy the economy for no reason beyond "We've got to do something. Shutting down businesses is something. So let's do that."
Sorry for the vehemence of my venting. None of this is directed at you or any other individual. It's more a condemnation of all of us, which by definition, includes me.
