Sam Harris made a great point in his podcast that we need to focus on flattening the curve. Meaning, even if a pandemic is inevitable, if we spread it out enough so the healthcare industry and hospitals aren't overwhelmed, it can be much better managed.
I think that's what they are trying to do.
I dread to think what the situation would be like if places just went into complete lockdown too early.
It's one thing to be locked down for 2 weeks once the virus seems to get out of control.
Imagine going into lockdown for 2 or 3 months and then when the restrictions are lifted the virus just spreads anyway.
People can only stockpile so much food and can only take so much time off work etc.
Eventually you would reach a point where the consequences can become just as deadly as the illness itself.
Even if you took the "it's just a flu" stance we are still talking about adding thousands of additional sick people to the existing healthcare systems.
I'm sure a lot of government actions are in some way focused on not being blamed as the numbers continue to rise.
The best they can actually do is slow things down temporarily though.
I mean, how long can Italy realistically remain locked down? Seems like they will eventually have to open back up again and when this happens the virus is going to spread again, especially if lots of people have mild or no symptoms.
