COVID-19 lockdowns
During the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of non-pharmaceutical interventions, particularly lockdowns (encompassing stay-at-home orders, curfews, quarantines, cordons sanitaires and similar societal restrictions), were implemented in numerous countries and territories around the world.
[2] By April 2020, about half of the world's population was under some form of lockdown, with more than 3.9 billion people in more than 90 countries or territories having been asked or ordered to stay at home by their governments.
[4][failed verification][5] Research and case studies have shown that lockdowns were generally effective at reducing the spread of COVID-19, therefore flattening the curve.
[9] To achieve a balance between restrictions and normal life, the WHO recommends a response to the pandemic that consists of strict personal hygiene, effective contact tracing, and isolating when ill.[10][better source needed] In addition to the health effects of lockdown restrictions,[11] researchers have found the lockdowns have reduced crime and violence by armed non-state actors, such as the Islamic State, and other terrorist groups.
[13] One study led by an economist at the University of Chicago found that involuntary lockdowns had little impact, with voluntary distancing making up nearly 90% of the fall in consumer traffic as people feared the virus itself.
[15] Another study from Yale University found that most social distancing was voluntary, driven primarily by "media coverage of morbidity and mortality".
One of those two studies, by Flaxman et al., has been criticized, among other things for having a country-specific adjustment factor, without which the model would predict a massive number of deaths for Sweden.
[19] One widely cited economic simulation asserting that shelter-in-place orders reduced total cases three-fold, however, held voluntary distancing constant.
[25] Since the beginning of the pandemic, Google has consistently collected data on movements, showing rapid declines in public activity long before legal restrictions were imposed.
[8][28][29][30] During the early stages of the pandemic in Europe and the United States, statistical modeling which advised that restrictions were helpful to prevent a large number of deaths were used as the basis for lockdowns.
[41] A number of medical experts signed the Great Barrington Declaration in October 2020 which called for "Focused Protection" on high risk groups and minimal restrictions on the general population to achieve herd immunity through COVID-19 infection.
[45] Some commentators have suggested that stay-at-home orders are unconstitutional, or that states' use of emergency powers to restrict freedom of assembly and movement are authoritarian and may result in long-term democratic backsliding.
[8][52][53][54][55] Systematic reviews and meta-analyses indicate that the COVID-19 lockdowns were associated with increased rates of depression, anxiety, psychological distress, and a decline in health-related quality of life among children and adolescents, largely driven by school closures, social isolation, and disrupted routines.
[56] Lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic also led to strained relationships, increased cyberbullying, and physical consequences like abuse, accidental poisonings, and foreign object injuries.
The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted education for 1.6 billion students at its peak, exacerbating the gender divide with disproportionately greater learning losses among girls and increased risks of child labor, gender-based violence, early marriage, and pregnancy in some countries.
This decline has been attributed to the limited access that teachers and school staff had to students, who typically serve as key reporters of child abuse.
[58] UN Women warned in an April 2020 report that COVID-19 pandemic restrictions exacerbate gender inequalities and have led to an increase in domestic violence.
[68] There was a general agreement, at least in some economic circles, that "severe lockdowns — including closing non-essential businesses and strict limitations on people's movement — are likely to be better for the economy in the medium term than less aggressive measures".
Schools, universities and colleges closed either on a nationwide or local basis in 63 countries, affecting approximately 47 percent of the world's student population.
