– “the only things that appear to have made a significant difference…”
Arguably the most significant characteristic of SARS-CoV-2 is its lightning rapid spread; this is why it overloads health systems. The defining characteristic of politicians seems to be their depressingly sluggish minds – after a year and a half and dozens of examples from all over the world, they still haven’t appreciated this one simple fact.
When infections or admissions exceed their arbitrary threshold, the politicians set some date to have a debate about it, usually in about a week. When they debate it they set some further date to actually do anything about it, usually in about another week’s time. Meanwhile the virus has spread, outbreaks in new areas every day. By the time restrictions are actually implemented they’re already out of date.