I really don't understand why we're watching the world economy go into freefall for social distancing when we could just quarantine those vulnerable to the disease. This only ends when every single person is immune to the disease, so wouldn't it make sense to quarantine those who could die from the disease and then let it run its course? It's incredibly frustrating.
Know what's even more frustrating, though? That's still an option.
The scenario that is playing out has nothing to do with saving life. The process that is going on is mainly stop A LOT of people from getting sick at one time. If this occurs what you get is basically the same thing you have seen at grocery stores; empty shelves. Imagine if everyone got sick at once and converged on the medical field, for one we would quickly clean their shelves of medical supplies without the people available to restock but most importantly, we would seriously task the medical personnel themselves. Dont think of them as always being there, they will get sick too and be physically drained by this event. This whole process is to prevent if possible but at a minimum to spread this illness over weeks or months so it doesnt strain anyone or anything giving service or aid.