For me, one of the most troubling aspects of present government policy is “social distancing.” Although no doubt well-intended, it has the consequence of making each person suspicious and fearful of every other person they encounter. The longer-term harm from this is likely to be far worse than the modest health risks supposedly avoided thereby. But as you say, panic is profit, and most people are only too happy to conform to whatever the group norms happen to be at any point in time. Which is why history is so terribly full of horrors.