Economists looked into what would happen if we just let it happen, and found that global supply chains are not equipped to deal with that number of people dying or getting sick at once. Remember, it's not binary - you aren't just dead or well, you could be anything in between. So, those livelihoods would be destroyed anyway. It isn't just the old dying, either - it's now spreading rapidly among, and killing, the young.

I'm guessing you're in the US? Imagine for a second that you had full, comprehensive state healthcare: you never had to worry about paying for medical treatment. Imagine you had laws in place to stop you having to work in unsafe conditions. Imagine the government would pay you to safely stay home. Now think about the impact that would have on your behaviour. Masks and social distancing aren't the problem here.

We've never been told that social distancing would solve the problem - it's just about stopping the mortuaries from being completely overwhelmed.

When Europeans brought smallpox to the colonies, over 80% of the locals died. Suddenly, staying home doesn't seem so bad.