Aren't those two different things? They should not have shut down the economy, that's a fact It is going to take a long time to recover because the retail model has changed to be more online with fewer retail employees, and many restaurants will never reopen. Our economy will grow into new opportunities and people will get different jobs, but it will take a while.
Meanwhile it is very likely that masks reduce spread. There is plenty of evidence they do. There is no evidence that anyone has presented that they don't work. There is an NEJM paper with that claim but nothing to support it, and only five references which don't support the claim (or in fact any claims in the paper).
Nope, part of the same problem; over reaction. You didn't answer my question. In a bad flu year, are you going to advocate doing what governments across the country have done through this mess? If so, have you done so in the past? If not, why is it so important now and in the future?
It was prudent when you could extrapolate a 10% mortality rate. Now, with the numbers available, and a very questionable mortality rate of .6% it just doesn't make sense, unless it's not about health but about control.