ANTHONY BUTLER: Besides health and economics, the lockdown has a third dimension
Effects on human culture and behaviour of the pandemic and restrictions have largely been ignored
23 April 2020 - 15:50
Government’s proposed easing of Covid-19 restrictions will have to balance health risks with economic effects. But the human, social, and political dimensions of the response should not be ignored.
We are confronted by three great fields of uncertainty. The first concerns the health science of Covid. We remain poorly informed about how the virus spreads, asymptomatic carrying, the effectiveness of social distancing, treatment options and testing reliability. Above all, we do not know if those who are infected will develop sustained immunity, or whether and when an effective vaccine will be available...
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