The main point of restrictions was to reduce case numbers coming into hospitals and overwhelming them, since COVID patients who do get hospitalized tend to stay

The main point of restrictions was to reduce case numbers coming into hospitals and overwhelming them, since COVID patients who do get hospitalized tend to stay there a long time. If you are a young person who gets into a car crash and you need immediate treatment in the ER, an overwhelmed hospital might either mean sending an injured person into a place crowded with COVID patients, or scrambling to find a hospital that has room. Even now there are still US hospitals turning away ambulances due to lack of capacity.