While the WH is not in favor of “herd immunity”, the reality is that many states will be reasonably open in the next month or so (granted, no large public events).
Sometimes in the fog of war you are following a strategy that you don’t think is your strategy. ;-)
The phrase “herd immunity” has been used traditionally in the context of vaccines. I.e., if enough people get vaccinated, there is herd immunity, like we have with our childhood vaccines.
This is the first time it has been appropriated by those who want the disease to be let loose to run through the population, thereby creating a new kind of herd immunity, that caused by letting the weakest people die.
Even the slightest relaxing of the recommendations does that, but we have to do some kind of compromise. The argument is about how much. There’s too much selfishness coming into the equation right now, not concern for the country and the economy but just a plain old desire to go out and have fun. Well, usually disguised as a respect for the Bill of Rights but still.