Better perhaps to just let infections happen as quickly as possible
The point of social distancing isn't to stop infection, it's to reduce the peak and spread it out over a longer period so the medical system has a chance to cope.
italy is so bad because not only are they dealing with sick, but their medical frontline workers are getting sick too.
it's not the illness killing people, it's a lack of resources. 20% of infected in general will have a severe case. One problem is the constant reference to 'mild' cases. One Italian doctor clarified that 'mild' means anything short of supplemental oxy required. 'Severe' cases require assisted oxygen and critical need breathing support. Problem is, there's not enough machines/beds to go round and Italy are now having to triage patients according to who has the best chance of a quicker recovery so more people can be helped. They are literally having to choose who has a chance to live.
Distancing is to stop us/NZ getting to that point.
Unfortunately I fear we needed to start this two weeks ago. Every day makes a difference, so if it needs to start Monday, it should have been done on Friday.