I think it's important to remember that the goal is not to reduce the transmission rate to zero. The goal is to make sure people don't die unnecessarily due to

I think it's important to remember that the goal is not to reduce the transmission rate to zero. The goal is to make sure people don't die unnecessarily due to overwhelmed healthcare systems. So far, it seems the physically distancing efforts in many states and countries have been sufficient to bring the transmission rate down to manageable levels, even though these efforts are imperfect and come with many loopholes. Denmark, Austria and Czechia are all about to end their lockdowns and start reopening parts of their economies. They may be good test cases for how loose restrictions can get without having the transmission rate rise too high. But make no mistake, more people will get the virus and more people will die, which is currently the only way forward we have.