I was raising what you could call hysteria and fear mongering on this forum early in March. The facts substantiated it. They do not currently call for anything more than concern IMO.
So when would they? *after* a significant amount of hospitalizations? How do you know that the 35 cases confirmed in the last 2 days aren’t “community spread”?
In fact one could make the case that the risk of unwelcome government intervention in our shuls, schools, and yeshivos is of far more concern than the actual health hazard. That’s not to say that no one will be hospitalized or ch”v worse. Even with a small number of infections there will eventually be some. It will be an inevitable part of reopening society. But perhaps that does not rise to the level that would mandate significant impositions on the tzzibur , just as there will ch”v be deaths from swimming pools, bein hazmanim road trips, summer activities, families driving to distant family weddings etc. as there are each year, yet no one suggests that the tzibbur curtail these activities. I’m not sure what the dividing line is.
I do think that weddings present a more significant risk of government intervention than is acceptable, and that is something we should act upon in any case.
I agree with much of what you wrote.
Not to detract from your point, which is objectively valid, but I think you’re equating things that are far from similar-
1) How many people in Lakewood can potentially die from not controlling this with objectively light measures *within a few weeks*? How many’s health will suffer long term? Also, you don’t get to decide whether COVID kills you, only whether you lock yourself up at home or subject yourself to the mercy of everyone else’s precautions.
2) How many die in Lakewood each *year* from all of the things you listed? IINM it’s in the range of 2 or less each year. Many (most?) years, 0. And all are a direct result of some individual human negligence. We don’t really accept death all that much. Also, each of those are objectively preventable, and they are not at the mercy of others’ decision making.