Glitch99 wrote:Yeah, but what's glossed over is how "flattening the curve" also extends the curve. Where a sharp spike will be mostly over within a month (with a lot of negatives, I'm not saying that's what should happen), a flattened curve will drag it out for 3 months, 6 months, potentially even longer.
It's not "glossed over," it's inherent in the purpose itself. The only people "glossing over" that are people who can't read a graph.
If we were to just go about life like normal, as you suggest, you're talking thousands, possibly tens of thousands - maybe millions, of lives being lost once hospitals have to start triage of patients and sending many of them home to die, only to save the few they can. Sure, it's over in a month or two (assuming you become immune after you're infected), but at what cost?
Instituting the steps that have been taken will help in distancing people from each other. Sure, we still have to go get groceries and supplies, maybe even walk around the park for some exercise and fresh air. But limiting exposure will limit the spike, thereby allowing hospitals the capabilities to remain under their threshold - and saving more lives.
In the end, the same number of people get infected. What changes is how many die.