Sweeping lockdowns failed to protect vulnerable populations

New evidences are showing us that sweeping lockdowns have not been able to control the spread of the coronavirus, and that it must now be replaced with targeted interventions.

In this article for Forbes, Grace Marie Turner says that insisting on lockdowns will prove to be harmful in most areas and will divert the focus from plans and strategies that could save lives and the economy. Turner cites the new paper by Doug Badger and Norbert Michel which discovered that COVID-19 deaths in the US are concentrated in 30 counties, particularly in areas which are highly congested. Moreover, Badger and Michel discovered that many US hospitals are largely unoccupied. Meanwhile, a separate analysis by Gregg Giovanni and Avik Roy shows that 42% of all COVID-19 deaths are further concentrated nursing homes for the elderly. Evidence also shows that some counties in the US didn’t have a single COVID-19 death, and 63% had no more than one.

Turner reminds us that lockdowns were never meant to reverse the pandemic. Instead of sweeping lockdowns, the government should focus interventions in areas where infection rates are high. Turner also adds that the government should lift bans on non-emergent care so that non-COVID patients can finally receive the surgeries and treatments they need.

Editor’s Note: There are only two reasons why lockdowns are not being lifted: either the government is ignorant of the new researches about COVID-19, or lockdowns are being used to control populations.

There is no shortage of researches proving that lockdowns have failed and must be lifted as soon as possible. [Visit the article category Is A Lockdown Necessary? to understand why we support the lifting of lockdowns].