The author of this piece, Zeynep Tufekci (https://twitter.com/zeynep), has had a pretty consistent viewpoint throughout the epidemic: she called for early response, early mask wearing (when most western authorities were advising against it) and co-authored a review on the topic (https://www.preprints.org/manuscript/202004.0203/v1), and has consistently said that closing outdoor public spaces is a mistake. Whether she's wrong or right, she's not just writing what the Atlantic's editors tell her to.