[reindeer76]

>From a human perspective, it is easy to understand the reluctance to face these numbers. It is hard to avoid the conclusion that millions of people have been deprived of their freedom, and millions of children have had their education gravely damaged, for little demonstrable gain. Who wants to admit that they were complicit in this?

Excellent point, and this is a big reason for the lingering restrictions in many countries.

Sweden, Denmark, etc. prove that you can just ignore Covid, drop masks, etc. and nothing bad happens. The whole thing is a fluke and they can’t admit they messed up and ruined lives, jobs, and businesses for nothing, because then people would be calling for their heads.