Lockdown… a term and real-life experience people all over the world have been facing for over a year now and with little to no solid plan in place of this changing soon for some. At least here in the UK, the government lead by Boris Johnson has produced some sort of plan for easing lockdown restrictions that have crippled small businesses, disrupted education and left many with mental implications which have yet to even be addressed.
The Government has stated that all restrictions will be lifted on June 21st, 2021, which is quite some time from now but at least it’s something people can markdown in their calendar. The one size fits all lockdown measures have been placed on almost every country and the impact this has caused some would argue is a greater pandemic than the Covid virus itself.
Here are 7 reasons which further stress the need to seriously assess if lockdowns are as helpful as they are lead to believe.
1. Lockdowns cost over £2 billion pounds per day
An area of lockdown strongly debated by economists is the financial impact caused by suddenly shutting everything down. An article by the Times highlights this cost which the UK incurs each day it’s locked down. Now some are right to say, well the cost of human lives justifies this or any amount and I agree on that point however, as mentioned by Professor Thomas Philip of Bristol University it’s not as simple as lockdown saves lives because locking down also costs lives. The £2 billion which it costs can be injected into various areas of the UK which need serious attention like the NHS, housing, training for skilled workers, tackling pollution the list goes on.
2. Mental Health
When it comes to health, people tend to neglect mental health from these conversations and most definitely from news outlets that focus on the cases per day and deaths but fail to mention any of the hidden damages such as mental health issues which have risen significantly.
The Medical News Today Journal describes this as a problem that has only got worst. Personally, this has affected me also and though I have taken the time to keep myself active in other forms, I still class myself as one of the fortunate by even having a home that is conducive enough for me to write and express myself mentally.
3. Domestic abuse has risen worldwide
I remember late last year witnessing a woman being punched by a man while driving with her two kids in the backseat and what I saw shocked me but unfortunately, this is the sad reality when it comes to domestic abuse which just so happened to slip out in public.
The popular idiom “Home is where the heart is” doesn’t necessarily hold true to everyone, because for many, home is hell and they take any chance they get to avoid it. Women always are at the short end of the stick when it comes to abuse and the restrictions have made this problem worst. One article states in the first seven weeks of the UK lockdown they received a domestic abuse call every 30 seconds.
4. Oxfam suggest as many as 12,000 people could die per day
When people say lockdown saves lives one can assume they are mainly referring to those effected by Covid but this totally ignores those affected by starvation which has been a global issue for decades. Chema Vera the interim executive director of Oxfam mentioned in an article that the social and economic impacts caused by Covid-19 lockdowns are the last straw for millions of people already struggling.
The reasoning behind lockdowns the government and many people are lead to believe is to save lives but if someone from such a position in Oxfam can say this one begins to wonder:
Is the aim of saving lives still relevant or is it only those directly affected by Covid-19?
5. Increase in drug-related crimes
In the UK, drug crime is a never-ending battle, especially in London which consumes more drugs than Barcelona, Amsterdam and Berlin combined.
Gangs who look to capitalize on the weak and vulnerable make use of this lockdown opportunity where people have no source of income and are vulnerable to funnel and push drug-related activities. A BBC Scotland police report article highlights the increase in drug-related crime and other criminal activities. It states that the dark web (the internet where drugs and other illegal activities can be purchased) has increased by 500% in the UK during the lockdown.
6. The UK hospitality industry sales has slumped by over 80%
In an article published by Bloomberg, pubs, restaurants and bars have been the worst hit during this whole lockdown as they have been forced to close with no clear plan or guarantee and when they did open, it was at a limited capacity.
No business can run by opening for one month then closing for the next three. In fairness to the government, they have already outlined a plan for things to open up on June 21st but unfortunately, a lot of the damage has already been done. Over 76,000 businesses have permanently closed and up to 250,000 are in the same boat if the government doesn’t intervene for these businesses which desperately need help.
7. Unemployment rise and redundancies hit record levels
Probably the most evident case of harm caused by lockdowns is the clear rise in unemployment and redundancies. Currently, the UK is at a record high for redundancies as reported by the ONS (Office for national statistics).
The ONS reports that around 1.69 million people were unemployed in the August-October period, an increase of 241,000 in the previous quarter. These are all a result of people being restricted to go into work by government lockdown policies.
Light at the end of the Tunnel
Despite the findings and reasons why lockdowns cause more harm than good, there is some light at the end of the tunnel with many countries publishing a roadmap out of this bizarre situation we find ourselves in.
The largest human vaccine program ever, currently underway is being described by many governments as the only way out of this and views on if this is even safe have been strongly criticized by world-leading microbiologists and many other medical professionals but that’s a topic for another day perhaps.
The question really is, well how long is the tunnel? If each time, the goalposts are shifted and new variants are being found surprisingly close to each milestone are we really positive things will return back to normal on June 21st?
