We can't wait 18 months to open up the country again. Not with crops rotting in the fields in Florida and California right now, and more crops due to be picked in the next weeks, and spring planting that must take place on time.
When we were asked to agree to give up our liberties due to this virus, we were promised that it would only be in place long enough to flatten the curve of new hospitalization cases. The curve in the US is past peak or peaking (depending upon the locale) right now. We the people should expect the government to keep its word and lift restrictions in the next week or two. Anything else is a betrayal of the citizens' trust.
America is the breadbasket of the world; 18 months of shutdown could cause mass starvation. Here's a story from NBC:
crops rotting in fields