Two years on, what have we learned about lockdowns?

Science Weekly

The Guardian

Science

4.2 • 1K Ratings

🗓️ 24 March 2022

⏱️ 13 minutes

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Summary

Over the past two years, countries around the world have shut down their societies in last-ditch efforts to contain the pandemic. Some, like China, have enforced strict lockdowns as part of a zero Covid strategy. Others have ordered people to stay at home to flatten the curve of infections and buy precious time. But since they first began, what have we learned about how well lockdowns work? Ian Sample speaks to epidemiologist Prof Adam Kucharski about the effectiveness of different approaches, and the lessons we should take forward.. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

Transcript

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0:00.0	This is the streets.
0:23.2	Almost nothing leaves or enters Wuhan.
0:26.3	Back in January 2020 it seemed like an extreme measure to take.
0:30.7	But as the virus spread to other countries and the scale of the threat was starting to dawn,
0:35.0	other governments soon followed suit.
0:38.0	Good evening, we start tonight with the unprecedented measures being enforced right across Italy to try to limit the spread of
0:44.6	coronavirus. The declaration of the state of the alarm affect the all
0:48.5	territory of Spain during 15th years that could berogerse, with the authorization of the Congress
0:54.1	of the deputators, if was necessary.
0:56.2	Stay home or face punishment.
0:58.6	The words of French President Emmanuel Macchio on Monday
1:01.4	as the French government ramped up its lockdown restrictions
1:05.0	across the country.
1:07.8	And then came an announcement from Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
1:11.8	From this evening I must give the British people a very simple instruction.
1:16.4	You must stay at home.
1:20.2	It's now two years, almost to the day, since the first UK lockdown began.
1:25.0	And we now have much more effective ways of preventing, treating and tracking COVID-19.
1:31.0	But in that time, what have we learned about lockdowns and how well they really
1:36.2	work? From the Guardian I'm in sample and this is Science Weekly.
1:53.0	Adam Kacharski as a professor of infectious disease epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, the COVID pandemic has been an enormously busy time for you.
1:57.0	I'm wondering if there was a moment early on in 2020
	...

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