Before revision:  The approach is validated by several robustness tests and by contrasting our estimates with the official statistics on the recession caused by COVID-19 in different European countries during the first  two quarters of 2020. Compared with the standard indicators, our results are much more chronologically disaggregated and up-to-date  and, therefore, can inform the current debate on the appropriate policy response to the pandemic.
After revision:  The approach is validated by several robustness tests and by contrasting our estimates with the official statistics on the recession caused by COVID-19 in different European countries during the first two quarters of 2020 (correlation coefficient of 0.98) and are validated by several robustness tests. However, they are also more chronologically disaggregated and up-to-date and, therefore, can inform the current debate on the appropriate policy response to the pandemic.