More than 20,000 lives could have been saved in England had the first lockdown been put in place a week earlier, according to a report from Imperial College London.
Researchers estimate that the number of deaths in the first wave could have been reduced from around 48,600 to 25,600 had the first national shutdown, introduced on March 23, 2020, been triggered seven days earlier.
This means 23,000 lives have been saved, according to the report.
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The elderly have been found to be nearly three times more likely to die from the coronavirus in nursing homes than in the community since the start of the epidemic until early December last year.
The findings come after the government faced repeated allegations it failed to protect residents of nursing homes and even faced legal action the High Court.
Imperial College London’s research into the pandemic, published in Science Translational Magazine, also found that nationwide lockdown was the only effective measure that consistently lowered the R-number below.
Researchers estimated that the outbreak in London and the South East began about two weeks before the rest of the country, meaning the lockdown took place at a later stage of the outbreak in those areas.
The report also found that England on December 2, 2020 was still a long way from collective immunity, ranging from 7.9% in the South West to 22.5% in London.
Dr Marc Baguelin, Imperial College London, said: “Early intervention is really essential to reduce the number of cumulative deaths. reduce transmission. “
The study by the MRC Center for Global Infectious Disease Analysis, which is funded by Imperial College London, analyzed the epidemic from the first importation of coronavirus into every region of the UK until December 2, 2020.
The period covers …
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Source: news.sky.com
This notice was published: 2021-06-23 15:38:00
