[Mediterraneo10]

There is at least a third group: people neither at risk nor majorly inconvenienced who sympathize with the "young people".

I am nearly middled-aged myself and living in the countryside and remote-working for years already, so I am not very inconvenienced. But I want restrictions lifted so that people in their teens and twenties can have their big festivities, courtship rituals, etc.

The COVID lockdowns have been the biggest betrayal of youth since May '68, and their loss of freedoms offends me more than the deaths of the old.

[offtop5]

Thanks for the insight.

I'd be more worried for those who work festivals, events , bars , restaurants, etc. Millions of life have been destroyed.

I like to put it this way , the worst thing that's happened to me since Corona started, is I no longer have places to meet people. But the folks who staff those places , bars , concerts, etc ,are out of work.

Not very fun to be jobless when rent is still due and your kids still need to eat.

[kaba0]

Unfortunately it is not a zero sum game - and exponential growth is no joke. We have to make some sacrifices, and I would say many of the young understands it and is not joyfully, but willfully do their part and stay home.

You may not have many empathy towards the older population who is endangered directly, but perhaps the many who will not have place in hospitals due to the flood of COVID patients, causing many many indirect deaths.

[Mediterraneo10]

> We have to make some sacrifices, and I would say many of the young understands it and is not joyfully, but willfully do their part and stay home.

Maybe that's you, and that's your choice. But what about all the young people who do not want to stay home and make sacrifices for the sake of older people? My sympathies are with them.

> perhaps the many who will not have place in hospitals due to the flood of COVID patients

One solution to this is to triage COVID patients away from intensive care, so that those beds remain available to the bulk of the population. This is the approach that Sweden chose, for example. So, no, I don’t see this as a reason to place limits on the lives of young people.

[kaba0]

I doubt any country has enough hospital beds/personal to “battle” a pandemic. I’m not sure what you mean by triaging COVID patients, I doubt any hospital accepts mild cases - and basically everything has to have a covid and non-covid part.

[Mediterraneo10]

Triaging means that COVID patients are directed towards palliative care (which is quick, and for which even non-specialist personnel can be trained) regardless of the severity of their symptoms, so that they do not take up beds. Again, Sweden has managed well with this approach and never had to institute a severe lockdown.