The problem is that the exercise of freedom by some people may have consequences for others.
That is a double-edged sword. Consider the devastating consequences already baked in for young families across the UK. Jobs lost, savings exhausted, income terminated, debts spiralling, eviction worries, kids bottled up at home freaking out. Stress, anxiety, loneliness, depression, suicide. Alcoholism, gambling, drug abuse, self-harm, domestic battery. Marital break-ups. Broken homes. Untreated medical issues of all kinds ignored for the duration of the C-19 crisis. Elective surgeries cancelled. Time-critical new cancers undiagnosed.
C-19 risks lives. And so does the prescribed C-19 remedy. Just different lives. Generally, younger ones. With many years of quality life ahead of them if allowed to thrive and prosper as they should.
The good news is that we do have the means to protect the truly vulnerable in care homes, hospitals and hospices. Those with serious vulnerabilities in the wider community can be supported in their entirely understandable wish to continue to shield themselves. But we don't need to imprison the young and the healthy indefinitely to achieve this. We don't have to completely obliterate their prospects for the future. We can move to a consensual system of discretionary self-isolation for those who feel they need it. And a return to something resembling normal for everybody else.