Were all these months of lockdowns, wearing masks, etc. even worth it? People have been wearing masks and businesses and other facilities have been operating at limited capacity and heightened health and sanitation precautions, and despite all this, there are more cases now than when this whole thing started. Wasn't the point of these lockdowns to stabilize the healthcare system? The lockdowns made sense in March if that were the case, but it seems like they lasted longer than necessary.

I understand that this is a potentially lethal disease, and many people have died as a result of the disease and its complications. What people like to forget about however, is that there are the millions of lives of people that have been ruined because of the onset of these precautions, which as mentioned earlier did not do much since cases are higher than ever. Millions of workers' careers are ruined because of business shutdowns and layoffs, and the job market has become ridiculous to say the least. People cannot afford basic necessities in many cases, and there's no sign of any financial help coming. Domestic violence, divorce, and suicide rates have all skyrocketed. We have at our hands a mental health crisis unlike any ever seen, and people seem to overlook this. Crime has increased substantially in many major cities.

With news that masks apparently don't work or whatever (which may or may not be true), this just makes things more discouraging. People cannot afford to live like this, and who knows when a vaccine will be distributed? It's all so tiresome.

So I ask you, /sci/. What could have been done better? Was it all worth it at the end (Who am I kidding? We're not even close to the end.)?