If covid-19 is much less harmful than we originally thought, why were, and still are, medical experts proposing such draconian measures without a clear understa

If covid-19 is much less harmful than we originally thought, why were, and still are, medical experts proposing such draconian measures without a clear understanding of the true threat? Dr. Fauci, advisor to the president, proposed the other day that no one should ever shake hands again, in order to prevent spread. It is bizarre. Even when the disease first started to spread, there were people making these same points. In fact, most people thought the disease was no worse than a bad flu or cold, hence the difficulty to institute lockdown type measures in the first place. This is certainly not going to build trust in institutional expertise on these matters. So, once the medical experts are actually right, then they'll be ineffective at persuading people.