Here's a thought.
MERS and SARS were more virulent forms of Corona than CoVid-19, but far less was done and less people were seriously ill and died. I caught SARS and it kicked my butt, but I survived, probably why I beat -19. CoVid-19 is mostly a highly transmissible virus and less virulent than the others. This thing could have been quashed with a total shutdown IF people would have cooperated 100% (Impossible). IF MERS or SARS would have had the same communicability the death rate would have been enormous.