It's not 'this' generation, it's the politicians governing said generation. I think you'd find a great many people are prepared to take responsibility (read, 'accept & manage the risk') for their own health in order to have an open Australia - I know I am - however, the politicians are trying to protect people from themselves, which is a cop-out if you ask me...
I just did a 2.4 round-robin in a plane I built in my back shed from bits that originally resembled a Meccano set. To some, that's lunacy, hurtling through the atmosphere several kilometers above the hard earth in something you built yourself. But to pilots & the home-built crowd, it barely rates a mention, for it's about appropriate (personal) risk-management, ie wearing boots, long pants, carrying a first aid kit & PLB, having ADS-B and lodging a flight plan so 'they' know where to look if I don't come home... But we can't be seen to allow people to accept responsibility for their own health & wellbeing these days, can we? That's too libertarian and 'Murican.
If the pollie's and their lapdog CHO's were truly concerned about saving lives, they'd ban tobacco in Australia outright and save 7,000 lives each and every year - but everyone here knows that'll never happen...