In the UK, half the country just like… didn’t work, for half the year, and the government paid them for it. We had a list of “key workers” (ie people who actually do useful stuff) and everyone else was recommended to stay at home. Unprecedented numbers of people stayed home, people went on walks in the woods with their family, all but the busiest roads were de-facto pedestrianised, etc.

And nothing broke. Nothing stopped working. No shortages of everyday goods. It turns out half the population can just stop working and driving for a month and it’s fine. I don’t know why people didn’t take away more from that.