The next govt will be a National govt...

[king1]

In terms of lives saved, as against the result of letting covid run rampant, then the cost was always going to be worthwhile...  But yes, now comes the inevitable aftermath and trial by public opinion, otherwise known as a general election

I personally know people who have suffered depression due to almost loosing their business and are near suicide.
All for a virus that has a mortality rate well under 1% in most developed countries.
The social cost is far worse and is still going to hurt us years into the future.
The countries that let it run rampant have gotten over it much earlier and couldnt care less anymore.

I don't think anyone can argue with the large number of the worlds population that actually died, somewhere north of 6.5 million people... 
I also don't think any sane person will argue that the number wouldn't have been magnitudes higher had all countries allowed it to just run rampant.

But I would suggest that the countries that did let it run rampant either couldn't care less in the first place about covid or their citizens,  and/or they didn't have the resources available to actually deal with it.  

Yes there will always be some social costs in a global pandemic, but the greater good is all that matters in the end...