The only way lock downs were even remotely possible was zoom. Without zoom, none of this would have been possible. One has to be incredibly privileged to think lockdowns can work in any place but very advanced "first world" societies. Getting villagers living in the 12th century to lockdown would mean they'd all starve to death. Same with getting some favella in Brazil to lock down. It just doesn't work.

It requires an immense, huge amount of privilege to support virtually any of our response to covid. Anybody but a select group of wealth upper class people get absolutely fucked over by lockdowns. Fucked over far worse than covid ever would have.

12th century farmers were practicing subsistence agriculture. Locking the entire village off from the outer world was absolutely possible.

The cities are the big problem. During the Black Death, people coming to cities were quarantined before they were allowed to enter. Even then, many cities saw half their population die. A very significant number of settlements was wiped out altogether.

Ironically, it was actually quite beneficial to the regular villager - provided you survived. The Black Death has been directly linked to the collapse of feudalism in Europe, among with many other sociological developments.

I don't think the people stocking shelves in grocery stores, making deliveries, picking up garbage, driving busses, and tending the sick were able to work over zoom even today.