Because the goal was really to close businesses rather than forcing service/retail workers to serve as a Petri dish. Politicians/bureaucrats are intrinsically a

Because the goal was really to close businesses rather than forcing service/retail workers to serve as a Petri dish. Politicians/bureaucrats are intrinsically authoritarian and often overshoot with simplistic heavy handed responses. Then a political movement formed around acting like idiots out of spite, cementing the opposing positions. I was in a blue state that issued a strongly worded stay at home recommendation, but no "lockdown" with legal force. It worked great, owing in part to still having some sense of social cohesion. When your society can't get through novel disruptions with leadership informally keeping most everybody on the same page, that's what you should be worried about.