School closures in Italy haven’t worked.
Locking down a part of the country only led to people going to the part that wasn’t locked down hence why the whole country was placed on lockdown.
Leaving cafe’s and bars etc open didn’t work because people were still going out in their droves, hence why everything was then shut apart from food shops and pharmacies.
If anything, Italy is an example of how not to do it. In three weeks when Italy starts removing restrictions people will rush out again, because talking about staying at home and actually doing it are two vastly different things. And if the numbers continue to go up then they won’t be able to lock down again because people are less likely to comply a second time.
In time the majority of people do need to contract the virus in order that they can build up herd immunity which will protect the more vulnerable.
Lockdowns aren’t about containing the virus, they are about manipulating when it peaks in order to provide the best care possible. It is going to peak, it’s just a case of when.
And there will always be deaths even when there is a vaccine, because vulnerable people do die of flu every year, this is why we need herd immunity, because a vaccine is unlikely to be given to all for a while yet.