"15 days to slow the spread" was a blatant lie. Some of us were suspicious on the front end, and now all of us have read the stories to confirm that it was a willful lie. As was "these restrictions are only in place to lower the curve and avoid overwhelming our hospitals." They thought it was a good idea to "ease" us all into their real plan: Start with 15 days, then keep restrictions enforced by using sensationalized data points as a justification as to why citizens can't have reasonable control over their freedom. It significantly impacted their goal, as well, because a great many people no longer trusted anything being handed down, and went so far to the other end of the spectrum of going about their lives to prove some silly point to themselves.
And the political weaponization of this: Unforgivable. Teachers Unions who used this as an opportunity to hold people hostage while they made demands unrelated to COVID. Politicians who kept constituents locked down while going about their own lives as they hypocritically lived how they wanted to. And of course, those who wanted to maximize the damage to the country in the name of having some talking point going into the elections.
Small businesses, kids' development and education, mental health, etc.: All acceptable collateral damage.