Most experts are saying this will last 12-18 months. We can't stay at this level of shut down, much less a more strict level, for 12-18 months.
I agree the economy was doomed no matter what we did. I don't think it's a no brainer to keep increasing restrictions. It at least merits a discussion and some consideration for the economic impact. There is no blue print for how to handle this crises, so I don't like when people suggest we need to "shut everything down" at all costs. That isn't reasonable. I think for a long-term plan, it's realistic to keep restricting large groups (50+) and have people work from home as much as possible. Basically no festivals, no sporting events, no church services, no theme parks, restricted movies, etc.... I don't think it's reasonable to keep restaurants, bars and other "non-essential" business closed for longer than 2-3 weeks, MAYBE a month. That's fine for a very short-term plan to hopefully give the our healthcare industry time to "catch up". In the long-term we'll need extensive testing and probably have everyone wear masks out in public. Outside of that, life will have to continue in a fairly normal fashion, regardless of what the virus id doing. That's just one man's opinion.
People are much more likely to obey restrictions if they have a time line for when it will end. It's like a diet. Most diets don't work long-term because there is no light at the end of the tunnel. People can push through for a limited amount of time if they know there is an end date. That is my fear of not having any type of end date planned. I don't think the population will adhere to a strict "shelter in place" policy with no timeline in place for very long, regardless of what the government demands.