CoronaCrime #91 - Effects of Lockdowns on Mortality Rate

The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a terrible toll on lives, illness, and economic devastation and it is having diverse effects on violence and crime. Daily Prevention News publishes weekly a Corona Crime Issue dedicated to collecting related news and information.

1. Effects of Lockdowns on Mortality Rate 
   This systematic review and meta-analysis are designed to determine whether there is empirical evidence to support the belief that “lockdowns” reduce COVID-19 mortality. Lockdowns are defined as the imposition of at least one compulsory, non-pharmaceutical intervention (NPI). NPIs are any government mandate that directly restrict peoples’ possibilities, such as policies that limit internal movement, close schools and businesses, and ban international travel. The use of lockdowns is a unique feature of the COVID-19 pandemic. Lockdowns have not been used to such a large extent during any of the pandemics of the past century. However, lockdowns during the initial phase of the COVID-19 pandemic have had devastating effects. They have contributed to reducing economic activity, rising unemployment, reducing schooling, causing political unrest, contributing to domestic violence, and undermining liberal democracy. These costs to society must be compared to the benefits of lockdowns, which this meta-analysis has shown are marginal at best. Source: John Hopkins University Institute for Applied Economics, Global Health, and the Study of Business Enterprise
2. The pandemic’s true death toll
   How many people have died because of the covid-19 pandemic? The answer depends both on the data available, and on how you define “because”. Many people who die while infected with SARS-CoV-2 are never tested for it, and do not enter the official totals. Conversely, some people whose deaths have been attributed to covid-19 had other ailments that might have ended their lives on a similar timeframe anyway. Source: The Economist
3. Estimation of total and excess mortality due to COVID-19
   The IHM's updated modelling strategy now estimates total COVID-19 mortality, including unreported deaths due to COVID-19. Source: Institute for Health Metrics
4. The true number of Corona Deaths
   More than five million people are thought to have died from the effects of Covid-19 so far, according to official estimates. But there are likely to be significantly more deaths. There is also excess mortality in Germany. Summarizing article in German. Source: Spektrum

Please find more information and news about the interlinkages between the Coronavirus, Crime and Violence in German published every Tuesday on our German News Service Tägliche Präventions News.