The greater good must come first

There are countless risks and consequences associated with keeping billions of people on lockdown for an unknown amount of time. Researchers at the University of California Los Angeles found a rise in violence against women during lockdown and quarantine.^[1] Data collected by The New York Times shows that staying at home during the pandemic is a luxury, primarily reserved for the wealthiest of citizens. Lower-income people do not have the luxury to take off work or stay home and are disproportionately affected by a dwindling or halting economy. ^[2] Not to mention, lockdowns and restrictions have disastrous effects on local business. In Massachusetts, which has almost 7 million people, 20 percent of restaurants have closed for good.^[3] In the UK, the GDP lost almost 30 points between February and April. It rebounded in June and July but has only regained 50 % of what it lost.^[4] All this, for a virus that is deadly to people over 75 more than anyone else. In the UK, over half of the deaths from Covid-19 has come from citizens over 75. Almost 39,000 people over 75 have died in the UK as a result of Covid-19, compared to less than 14,000 people under 75. Damian Wilson, a UK journalist writing for Russia Today, suggests that keeping a lockdown in place for a virus that, by and large, kills people over 75, is ludicrous.^[5] Further, he argues that preventing children from going to school is disastrous to the development of their future, and that these effects far outweigh the costs of reopening the country.