One of the measures taken in the previous periods against the COVID-19 virus, which affected the whole world, was the closures, as we all know. There were times when we could not go out for days or even weeks in our country, as in the whole world, due to the closures made in order for the virus, which spreads faster in crowded environments, to affect fewer people.
However, a new study by John Hopkins University in the USA has revealed that the effect of these closures during the COVID-19 pandemic is quite different from what was predicted. In the study, it was stated that the closures implemented in the spring of 2020 had “little or no” effect on the death rates due to COVID-19 in the USA, England and other European countries, and the economic and sociological effects of the restrictions were also claimed to be quite “destructive”.
Non-COVID-19 deaths allegedly increased due to full closures
According to the results obtained from the data obtained in the study, which examined 24 different global studies, the effect of restrictions such as closures, mandatory masks and social distance on COVID-19 deaths was only 0.2 percent.
In addition, in the study where it was stated that closing the borders reduced deaths by only 0.1 percent, the most effective restriction was the closing of stores with a 10.6 percent decrease in death rates; The effect of school closures on death rates was 4.4 percent.
There are those who think otherwise:
On the other hand, those who oppose the research; He argued that before the development of vaccines and antiviral treatments, closures played an important role in curbing the transmission of COVID-19 and reducing the number of hospital admissions and deaths. But there is also a growing consensus that complete closures are leading to an increase in non-COVID-19 deaths, due to those whose condition worsened because of their lack of access to healthcare during the pandemic.
In the latest research, it was stated that the quarantines applied may have worse undesirable consequences than thought, and accordingly, isolating people at home can cause serious diseases, leaving other family members at home in danger. According to the researchers, the closure of retail businesses has caused a concentration of people in ‘essential’ stores, where the risk of contamination is greater.
“Strict methods undermine liberal democracy”
Stating that different COVID-19 death rates in countries have nothing to do with full closures, the researchers noted that the reason behind this difference may be the differences in the age and health of the population and the quality of the country’s health sector.
On the other hand, the researchers stated that the quarantines cause “enormous economic and social costs”, that they have no basis and that their implementation as a pandemic policy tool in the future should be “rejected”.
Steve Hanke, the founder of the John Hopkins School of Applied Economics, who led the research, openly criticized the damage done by the restrictions to the economy during the epidemic and stated that these orders were “fascist”. In addition, the researchers pointed out the devastating economic and sociological effects of the restrictions. “Strict measures have undermined liberal democracy,” he said.
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