Not going to get into lengthy discussion here. There's enough of that as it is. This is just my 2 cents...Unless you have full, perfect and unbreachable isolation, everyone in the world will, eventually, be exposed to the COVID-19 virus. Because of the nature of the actual world we live in, this is just something that is going to happen. These COVID-19 lockdowns were never meant to
stop the virus spreading. That would be impossible. What they are meant to do is
slow the spread.
This intent is clearly shown when you have your leaders present the graphic and talk about "Flattening the curve". This graphic not only shows the flattening - but why it's sought after.
Note: The area under each curve represents the total number of affected people and these are pretty much the same. This means that, either way, the same number of people are going to get the virus and need treatment. The same number of kids. The same number of elderly. The only difference is the time over which this occurs.
As (probably) everyone is aware, the lockdowns are an economic burden that everyone would like to see lifted ASAP. The sooner they are gone, the better for the economy - but it requires some care.
The fact that there are discussions on lifting some lockdown restrictions is not surprising as there will be many who haven't had to deal with the severity of the situation and are just getting pissed off. The fact that these notions are being
entertained says something far more significant.....
It would seem to me that there are areas where the flattening of the curve has been so effective, that the health system has coped and that future projections indicate the load on the health system will decline. While this is marvellous for the health system, it comes at the cost of extended impact on the economy. The solution is to ease back on some restrictions to enable the economy to start the recovery process. Yes, the health system will be busier than we might like, but as long as the capacity is not exceeded, then care will not be compromised. (I added the purple line in the above graphic to illustrate this.)
This is what I see as an appropriate action - but ONLY where the decision makers are operating with objectivity, integrity ... and all the facts. Bowing to political pressure and making hasty, ill-considered changes is a sure way to screw the pooch.
Hmmm... with politicians at the helm, the pooch should be worried.