“Meanwhile, our betters tell us that consuming food in a restaurant is safe – until 10 pm, when it suddenly becomes unacceptably risky until 5 am. But consuming alcohol with that food is unsafe at any time. This has got to be the most clever virus of all time – apparently it infects people on a schedule and per their diet.”
What an interesting world it must be where all is black and white with no shades of grey…
The problem with life is that it rarely can be distilled down to a binary result. Trying to do so ends up with extremist arguments that look for perfect solutions that don’t exist. For example…
…seatbelts are not 100% safe so seat-belt laws should be rescinded. Along with seat belts themselves.
…Drunk driving accidents still happen despite drunk-driving laws, so those laws must be completely ineffective.
…motorcyclists still die despite wearing helmets so helmet-laws don’t work.
With regards to the virus. The two choices are either A) have everyone in the world stay home for two weeks and don’t mingle with anyone else - the virus will die out for lack of hosts. Or 2) ignore the virus, carry on as before, and let the virus run its course.
The problem, of course, is both positions are equally absurd. Choice 1 can’t work simply because the world can’t hold its breath for two weeks. Choice B would overwhelm hospitals with tens of millions of patients, many of whom would die for lack of treatment (either for Covid or any of the other ills that may befall people in the normal course of their lives). Both extremes would be devastating to the economy.
So if we can’t 100% eliminate the spread by quarantining the entire world, nor let the virus sicken or kill everyone, we’re left with finding a middle ground (the shades of grey).
We can reduce (but not eliminate) the spread of infection by reducing (but not eliminating) the exposure level. Eating at restaurants is not 100% safe until 10PM where it becomes 100% unsafe. That’s a silly retort. But limiting overall restaurant hours will limit exposure without putting everyone out of work. After 10PM is when young(er) people tend to go to restaurants and bars where they crowd closer with fewer inhibitions. Limiting those activities again reduces exposure level and spread.
It’s all about finding a balance to keep the economy going without trashing the people that make up the economy.