Try telling our government that! Congress members should be required to take a basic economics class ... or better yet, we could have term limits so they have to go out and survive in the real world.
I take it that the real experts are sure this is going to be widespread--the latest I'm hearing is 60-70% infection rate worldwide. They're trying to limit the speed of spread, so the medical infrastructure doesn't get overwhelmed all at once--which would increase deaths. The irony is, if they succeed everyone will say there was never a danger in the first place, rather than crediting officials for getting us through it.
RE: book review: The World War 1 Triva Book, by Bill O'Neill