The plan is to almost beat it, get the new infections down to almost zero by strict lockdowns. Then commence contact tracing and quarantine for each new infecti

The plan is to almost beat it, get the new infections down to almost zero by strict lockdowns. Then commence contact tracing and quarantine for each new infection and all first, second and maybe third order contacts while general restrictions are eased. This continues until a vaccine or cure is found. If you want to know more, google Hammer and Dance. Flattening the curve just below hospital capacity is shown to be dangerous because you cannot control the infection rate with sufficient precision, causing slipups and second, third, fourth waves necessitating repeated longer lockdowns. All in all this damages the economy more because of the panic it periodically creates, repeated longer lockdowns (albeit maybe not as strict) and the uncertainty. There is always another lockdown looming just a few bad numbers ahead. Flattening the curve is sooo March 2020 ;)