That's your opinion, and you are totally entitled to it.
Personally, I drank a lot of beer during my brief internment during Thailand's lockdown, primarily because travel and shopping was still significantly challenged by local restrictions. My non-exempt entry expired shortly after they closed the borders, so after a couple of covid extensions and getting a new retirement extension, I was out of here 1st June 2021.
Our overall spending was significantly LESS than normal due to Covid restrictions. It was amazing to see the surge of nervous squatters posting the unanswerable question of "will they still issue covid extensions?" on this forum towards the end of their current 60-day extension. There were PLENTY of opportunities to go home or elsewhere. I was offshore Malaysia (after serving their quarantine requirements) and back in the UK by September 2021 to get the Covid shots that were still a total lottery to get here. Came back here in November. After some surgery here in February 2022, I was back working in Sabah. That's where I was when the government ended the covid extension charade.
But maybe you were a milkman.
Thanks for arguing.