In July, data collected from the top 50 countries for COVID cases showed that lockdowns did not result in a reduction of hospitalization or death. However, lockdowns did correlate with an increase in depression, use of drugs and psychiatric medication, smoking, obesity, and economic decline. [1]

Several months later, a study found that “stringency of the measures settled to fight the pandemic, including lockdown, did not appear to be [directly] linked to the death rate.” [2] We continue to find study after study with the same conclusion.

As we have seen for ourselves, staying open does not produce more risks and is significantly beneficial to mood, physical well-being, and the economy. The health of normally healthy people worsens as a result of shutting down entire communities and sections of society.

The stress caused by lack of socialization, unemployment, being forced into at-home learning, disconnection from family and friends, and a host of other factors clearly increases risks for physical and mental concerns.

A federal survey conducted in late June showed that the number of Americans struggling with depression, substance abuse, and thoughts of suicide was 40%. [3] This does not even account for the sharp increase as the pandemic has dragged on in the months since.

A study conducted in the suburbs of Chicago reported a 23% rise in suicide compared to 2019. [4] A frightening statistic from Japan illustrates that it is not only Americans who are suffering; the number of Japanese COVID-19 totals at the start of the pandemic to the month of October 2020 was 2,087. The number of suicides in the month of October alone was 2,153. [5]

It is clear from these numbers that risks of lockdown stretch far beyond merely contracting coronavirus.