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Australia, with population of 25 million, compared to 66 million for Britain, is even crazier, because Australia has virtually no covid19.

7 May: Australian Dept of Health: COVID-19
6,896 confirmed cases, 6,035 recovered cases, 97 deaths...
There have been 22 newly confirmed cases since 3.00pm yesterday...
62.7 percent acquired overseas...
3 deaths under age 60.
https://www.health.gov.au/news/health-alerts/novel-coronavirus-2019-ncov-health-alert/coronavirus-covid-19-current-situation-and-case-numbers

7 May: Institute of Public Affairs Australia: “Governments Must Start To Ease The Lockdown Measures”
by Evan Mulholland
60.6% of the Australian workforce, which is 8.3 million Australians, is currently either employed directly by government, or is in receipt of the JobSeeker unemployment payment or the JobKeeper wage subsidy. Specifically:
•There are 13.7 million Australians in the workforce defined as those who are employed plus unemployed.
•2 million (14.5%) Australians are employed by federal and state governments and local councils.
•1.3 million (9.5%) Australians are in receipt of the JobSeeker unemployment payment.
•5 million (36.5%) Australians are in receipt of the JobKeeper wage subsidy.

IPA analysis from 4 May projected that 72.2% of the Australian workforce, which is 9.9 million Australians, would become directly employed by government, or be in receipt of the JobSeeker or JobKeeper payment as a result of the economic and social lockdown measures. The difference in the current and projected estimates is attributable to the number of Australians in receipt of the JobKeeper payment which is expected to increase from 5 million to 6.6 million...

“Governments must start to ease the lockdown measures, cut red tape, reduce taxes, and simplify and liberalise industrial relations to get Australians back into work and small businesses operating again.”
“Small business and sole-traders have been smashed by the economic and social lockdown measures. This presents an existential threat to the Australian way of life which has always been built on hard work, risk-taking, and entrepreneurship.”
https://ipa.org.au/publications-ipa/governments-must-start-to-ease-the-lockdown-measures

Australia has a conservative government; the lockdown has been pretty aggressive, and supported by all political parties.

why? who can explain this wanton destruction of developed economies?