A good question. My take is it was a multi-pronged reaction.
The early news was so horrific (and, I believe, slanted unintentionally) that a response had to happen.
I also think our wonderful democrat/media complex tried to use the crisis to forward their authoritarian goals, plus their Trump derangement syndrome needed to cast it as his fault. The democrat governors wanted the economy to tank, Trump to fail, so they could take over. They never let a good crisis go to waste.
Then there is the group mass hysteria theory, which has a lot of merit. People simply did crazy things in a crazy time. It became far worse as a result.
I do know the dems used the mass hysteria to steal an election, so there is that too.
These things together and likely a few others to boot.
Lakeshark wrote: “These things together and likely a few others to boot.”
Excellent points. Too many want to see the responses to the virus as a huge conspiracy.
Have you read much about the Spanish Flu? Almost every book you read will end with a warning that it could happen again. Too many saw COVID-19 as a new Spanish Flu and they convince the politicians that drastic measures were needed to avoid that. Most politicians are risk averse. They followed that advice for far too long.