Society has a lot different meaning then compared to now; also, society doesn't make laws or regulations.
And Not everyone in "society" believes COVID 19 is a dangerous as Leprosy.
You have a 99.5 % chance of COVID, Leprosy has a "cure", does COVID?
“The truth is incontrovertible, malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end; there it is.”