Have you forgotten the early videos from Wuhan of people collapsing and dying in the streets? Have you forgotten all the families that lost many members in Lombardy? Have you forgotten the mortality rate of medical staff in the most severely infected regions? Have you forgotten the anguish of doctors having to decide who would get a hospital bed and who was condemned to die at home because the virus was so infectious when people weren't aware of the need to take appropriate precautions?
Yes we have a terrible situation because we have the worst of both worlds - a virus which leads to a disease that is more deadly than our normal experience but not as deadly as it could be - we're stuck in some horrible middle ground where the cure can look worse than the disease.
Covid probably has a mortality rate of 5 times or more than the flu and is incredibly infectious, but most people who contract it have few issues so it seems benign. Consequently each Australian looks at their risk situation and takes a side. I'm in my mid 50s so if I was to get infected I would likely face a mortality risk of at least 1-2% (and significant risk of further disability) so I don't want it. If you are young the odds are in your favour and you might be happy to take that risk. I would suggest that if sars-cov-2 is out there in any material way there will hundreds of thousands of Australians who will change their behaviour and it will take quite a while for life to return to the normal that we had before so there'll be a drag on the economy regardless what approach is taken.
PS. You must be too young to remember the good old days when pubs shut at 6pm and the Melbourne CBD (and everywhere else) was dead after midday on a Saturday etc etc?
