Quote (Santara @ 30 Mar 2020 13:20)
Why? Now that this virus is worldwide, it's highly likely to make a resurgence year after year, and we're going to need the extra capacity each flu season.
There will be vaccines and treatment options eventually, so that the virus loses almost all of its threat potential. If there is an effective drug you can give people that prevents most severe cases from needing hospitalization, the healthcare system is no longer under threat of being overrun. If a vaccine already exists, it will be a ton easier and quicker to come up with a new vaccine against seasonal mutations of the virus. And the herd immunity to the older strains of the virus will help to keep the spread of new, seasonal variations less explosive than what we're seeing right now.
We have to get through the coming months and potentially a 2nd wave in fall/winter, but after that, mankind will get this thing under control. Starting about twelve months from now, large-scale shutdowns and such wont be necessary anymore.
The big issue is the 6-12 month gap we're having, where we have to deal with a highly infectous disease that's spreading like wildfire and no effective treatment available. We cant return to normal during those 6-12 months, but we also cant shut down public life like we're currently doing for this whole time period, that would be economical suicide. That's why the world is going for this murky, mixed response with a relatively drastic shutdown in the short run, and extensive testing while gradually reopening the economy and the public in the intermediate future.