Rabbis Must Explain How COVID Restrictions are Based on Pekuach Nefesh?, by Shoshanna Silcove

To Rabbis who are embracing Draconian COVID restrictions on the premise of pekuach nefesh. 'Mei heichan dantuni'? From where do you derive this psak?
Torah criterion for a plague is approximately 3 deaths per 1000 daily, or 15 deaths per day if one is looking at the Crown Heights Jewish population of 15,000. Therefore, in Crown Heights, in order for COVID to fall under the category of a plague, thereby meaning pekuach nefesh applies, there would have had to have been 45 deaths per day.
However, at its peak there were not even 15 COVID deaths a week, with only a total of 30 COVID deaths in Crown Heights, nowhere near 45 COVID deaths a day needed to constitute a plague in a population of 15,000 like Crown Heights. This total of 30 deaths in Crown Heights is not counting the entire Chabad worldwide COVID deaths, which were all reported on COL too, mixed in with the local Crown Heights COVID deaths, making it seem that all these deaths were happening in Crown Heights thereby inflating the Crown Heights death toll, adding to the hysteria. This means that there was never a COVID plague and, therefore the mitzvah of pekuach nefesh cannot be applied, not only in Crown Heights, but anywhere else in the world as nowhere were there enough daily deaths to meet the Torah definition of a plague.
Here in Australia, with a population of 25,000,000 we have had 104 COVID deaths as of today. Surely one does not need to do very much calculating to see that no COVID plague exists here in Oz. The same holds true in America with a population of 328,000,000 and 130,000 COVID deaths, there is no plague there either.
Let's look at number of deaths in Australia from other causes. In 2019 car fatalities in Australia were 1182. Yet, we do not say that we should not drive a car because of pekuach nefesh. Number of deaths from drowning in 2019 in Oz was 291, smaller but still more than twice than from COVID deaths. Yet, we are not told to stop swimming because of pekuach nefesh. In Australia the regular seasonal flu known as influenza kills an average of 15,00 to 3,000 people per year (according to the Influenza Specialist Group). Yet, there are no calls for any restrictions, no talk from our Rabbis of pekuach nefesh. Moreover, despite having a flu vaccine, these deaths still occur.
So to the Rabbis who are insisting on these drastic measures and lockdowns, Mei heichan dantuni? Please, explain, how can this be justified on the premise of pekuach nefesh?