Researchers examined the impact of localised lockdowns in Chile. They found that that a three-to-four month lockdown would reduce economic activity by roughly the same amount as one year of the 2009 Great Recession.
German researchers looked at changes in the R number over time, and found they had "no direct connection" with lockdown measures. Significantly, infections were already declining when lockdowns were imposed last March.
Last year, the UK's age-standardised mortality rate returned to the level of 2008. People claim it would have risen far more in the absence of lockdowns. Yet Sweden's rate only returned to the level of 2015.
Researchers found that remote learning was associated with large increases in school dropout and learning losses in Brazil. They conclude that "the societal costs of keeping schools closed ... are very large".
Sweden saw particularly low mortality in 2019, which may partly explain why its mortality rate rose in 2020. Taking the average of 2019 and 2020, Sweden had lower mortality than both Denmark and Finland.
Boris Johnson's former chief adviser Dominic Cummings has thrown his latest blast at the Government for not being enough like China and locking down faster and harder. But has he got his facts right?
Professor Robert Dingwall, a member of NERVTAG, appeared on BBC Radio 5 this morning to talk about the Indian variant, vaccines, models, masks and lockdowns. This is about as sceptical as you will get on the BBC.
Scotland's Supreme Leader, Nic Sturge-On, has announced that the lockdown rules will remain in force in Glasgow and Moray after Monday while restrictions are eased in the rest of Scotland.
Lockdowns do not explain why Denmark, Norway and Finland have had fewer deaths than Sweden. Border controls were the crucial factor during the first wave. And Sweden had more restrictions than Finland during the second.
It was only on April 30th this year that the WHO finally updated its website to indicate that COVID can be transmitted via airborne particles. Had this happened sooner, our response might have looked rather different.
