More than two years after SA's first lockdown, scientists conclude that this strategy, along with other restrictions, did more harm than good. | Health24com
Lockdowns may not be the best strategy to contain the spread of a virus during a pandemic, SA experts say.The experts say context is important, especially in highly unequal national contexts like SA.
South Africa’s national lockdown was announced on 23 March 2020, and more than two years after analysing the impact of these lockdowns and restrictions, experts believe that their benefits are questionable.
One of these consequences is unemployment. By 2021, restrictions had affected various sectors of the economy and led to a shockingly low 42% of the working population remaining employed. They say that, according to modelling, employment is likely to recover to peak 2018 levels by 2024–2026, adding: “All that a lockdown does, in a South African context, is delay the inevitable, so that is not the best strategy,” he said.when it came to vaccination rollout, noting that it didn’t engage early enough with pharmaceutical companies to ensure the acquisition of vaccines. Other factors such as accessibility hindered the rapid scaling-up of vaccination, he said.In the recent SAJS article, Madhi and Jansen reference data by DATCOV, which reports hospital-based admissions and deaths.
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