Most scientists agree that lockdowns did curb COVID-19 deaths. But there is debate about the utility of any subsequent lockdown measures. Even in countries that didn't emulate China's all-in approach, ordering citizens to stay at home and isolating people with COVID in central facilities, lockdown measures still cut disease spread. Lockdowns do reduce viral transmission as the shutdown of Wuhan, China showed when SARS-CoV2 first emerged.
At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries introduced strict lockdowns to help prevent spread of the disease. Since then, researchers have been studying the effects of these measures to help inform responses to future crises.
Conclusions suggest that countries that acted swiftly to bring in strict measures did best at preserving lives and their economies, but analysing the competing costs and benefits of lockdowns has been tough, as this work often comes down not to scientific calculations, but value judgements.
This is an audio version of our Feature: What scientists have learnt from COVID lockdowns
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