The fact is that desperate times call for desperate measures.
Wandering, you're not likely to be at home for years - there will be a point when this first wave of illness has gone. But if you've got impaired lung function, you're probably going to want to be staying well away from other people anyway, aren't you? (Have you had reflux or GERD investigated as a cause of your cough?)
I know that this will seem extreme and crazy on the face of it, but to be honest things like this have been on the cards for weeks, along with all the things like cancellations of gatherings and closures of schools and quarantines. We'll need to do some of those, although it's not clear exactly which ones will happen when.
Don't underestimate how extremely socially unacceptable it could be about to become, to be out and about and at work with any kind of respiratory symptoms.
This is a kind of war now and the best we can hope (or campaign) for is government safety nets for people who will struggle financially from the more extreme measures.
The ultimate prize is containing or massively slowing down the spread so that our entire health service doesn't crash, and fewer people (who absolutely won't all be old or very sick already) will die unnecessarily.