LockdownThis Disastrous Lockdown Can Never Be Repeated, Even If the Virus Returns

Published 16 June 2020

Three months after we entered lockdown, as we tiptoe out to non-essential stores and meet a lonely relative, we can begin to benefit from something previously unavailable – experience. William Hague writes in The Telegraph that instead of having to rely entirely on widely varying mathematical models and fight an unknown virus in a fog of uncertainty, governments can start to see what has actually worked in different places around the world. The most important thing we now know is the true cost of a national lockdown, not just in economic but in human terms. The lockdown was a disaster on many fronts. “Such a disaster cannot under any circumstances be repeated. There can be no second lockdown.”

Three months after we entered lockdown, as we tiptoe out to non-essential stores and meet a lonely relative, we can begin to benefit from something previously unavailable – experience. William Hague writes in The Telegraph that instead of having to rely entirely on widely varying mathematical models and fight an unknown virus in a fog of uncertainty, governments can start to see what has actually worked in different places around the world.

There are many more things we know now about the coronavirus and its effects that we did not know three months ago, Hague writes. Chief among them is this: We can also begin to discern the true cost of a national lockdown, not just in economic but in human terms.

The unemployment figures about to be released represent a personal catastrophe for hundreds of thousands of people. Large rounds of corporate redundancies mean worse is to come. For many individuals, lockdown is going to mean depression, family breakdown and despair.

On top of this, we can now be sure that there will be tens of thousands of undetected cancers. Evidence is mounting that domestic abuse is rising, and mental health deteriorating. Dental standards will have dropped sharply, with lasting consequences. Above all, the education and development of millions of young people has been severely damaged, and they will carry the scars of that for the rest of their long lives.

We now know therefore that a lockdown is not a temporary blip or a paid holiday, but a disaster for our society. It is increasing inequality, social tension, and unaffordable debt. Globally, the World Bank has estimated that up to 60 million people will be pushed into extreme poverty. Such a disaster cannot under any circumstances be repeated. There can be no second lockdown.

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We have seen enough to know that a lockdown is so destructive that it can only ever be allowed once. That is why we should get out of it as soon as that can safely be done. But it is also why we should prepare, invest and organize to avoid it ever being contemplated again.