Claim: Plenty of peer-reviewed studies have found government restrictions early in the pandemic, such as business closures and physical distancing measures, reduced COVID-19 cases and/or mortality, compared with what would have happened without those measures. But conservative news outlets and commentators have seized on a much-criticized, unpublished working paper that concluded "lockdowns" had only a small impact on mortality as definitive evidence the restrictions don't work.
Fact-check: What We've Learned About So-Called 'Lockdowns' and the COVID-19 Pandemic - FactCheck.org
Verdict: plenty of peer-reviewed studies have found government restrictions early in the pandemic, such as business closures and physical distancing measures, reduced covid-19 cases and/or mortality, compared with what would have happened without those measures. but conservative news outlets and commentators have seized on a much-criticized, unpublished working paper that concluded "lockdowns" had only a small impact on mortality as definitive evidence the restrictions don't work.
Organisation: FactCheck.org
Author: Lori Robertson
Date published: 2022-03-08T21:50:02