Meta-analysis of several studies by Johns Hopkins University has revealed that the worldwide lockdown, imposed during the first Covid-19 wave, reduced the mortality rate by only .2% in the U.S. and Europe.
The researchers wrote, “While this meta-analysis concludes that the lockdowns have had little to no public health effects, they have imposed enormous economic and social costs where they have been adopted,”
They also added, “In consequence, lockdown policies are ill-founded and should be rejected as a pandemic policy instrument.”
Lockdown and its impact: Covid-19 Fatality
In a paper, published in January 2022, “A Literature Review And Meta-analysis of the Effects of Lockdowns on Covid-19 Mortality”, Jonas Herby(special advisor, Copenhagen Center for Political Studies), Lars Jonung(economics professor, Lund University), and Steve Hanke(economics professor, Johns Hopkins University), wrote-
“We find little to no evidence that mandated lockdowns in Europe and the United States had a noticeable effect on COVID-19 mortality rates,”
The research also included the analysis of shelter-in-place orders combined with other Lockdown measures and found that shelter-in-place orders, in fact, increased Covid-19 mortality by 2.8%.
The said researchers concluded that limiting gatherings might have had an inverse effect on the fatality of the Covid-19 Pandemic.
“[Shelter-in-place orders] may isolate an infected person at home with his/her family where he/she risks infecting family members with a higher viral load, causing more severe illness,”
Lockdown and its impact: Social and Economic
The study has also revealed the unintended adversities caused by the prolonged lockdown:
- Rise in unemployment: the nationwide unemployment rates peaked in April 2020 at 14.8%
- Degrading quality of education: 97% of U.S. teachers reported learning loss among their students
- Increase in domestic violence: domestic violence in the U.S. increased by 8.1%
- An upsurge in drug overdose: United States recorded 100,306 drug overdose cases
The data and the stats are indeed baffling. While we can not conclude with conviction that this was an absolute failure, the newfound study makes us wonder, if the lockdown is a boon or a bane.
Read related article: Is Covid-19 a promoter of Depression, Isolation, and Anxiety?
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