This is the public health equivalent of "beatings will continue until morale improves." Crushing it in a month was only possible if a controlled, highly acute

This is the public health equivalent of "beatings will continue until morale improves." Crushing it in a month was only possible if a controlled, highly acute spread was permitted through a completely isolated low-risk tier. Lockdowns prevented a more acute spread, and thus increased the duration of the pandemic period, delaying endemic equilibrium.