My grandfather created a successful business from scratch.
Part of his keys to success were his knowledge of the local politicians.
He paid them off with suitcases of cash—and both he and they lived happily ever after—not one of the politicians _ever_ got caught.
Same as it always was...
The same politicians have figured out that if ‘We’ aren’t ‘open’, ‘They’ won’t get paid via tax dollars.
They don’t care about ‘freedom’ so much as they care about their paychecks and whatever graft their lifestyle is based on.
They know that ‘they’ have access to whatever drugs/treatments are leading edge and work. So ‘they’ don’t have to worry about anyone they love dying of this. Or even being hospitalized.