National Lockdown to Cope with COVID-19 Pandemic: Effects (Contradictory) on Public Health and (Negative) on Economic System

Abstract

One of the policy responses to cope with effects of COVID-19 pandemic in society is the national lockdown applied by many countries worldwide. Literature lacks of studies that show whether the effects of this public policy on public health, environment and socioeconomic systems have been effective or not during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Empirical analysis of this study focuses on some European countries that have applied different containment measures based on national lockdown with longer period (more than a month) and a shorter period (of max 15 days). The evidence shows that longer period of national lockdown by governments seem to generate contradictory effects on public health, whereas on economic growth induces a negative impact given by high contraction of real GDP growth %. This result here can be helpful to policymakers for new policy choices directed to design appropriate measures of containment based on a shorter temporal duration and applied on selected areas and places at risk, rather than general and uniform interventions of lockdown and reduction of mobility. This new perspective of public policy to cope with pandemic crisis of the COVID-19 and future epidemics of similar viral agents can balance the likely positive effects on public health without to deteriorate the structural indicators of economic system.

Awareness and Behaviors Regarding COVID-19 among Albanian Undergraduates

“…Moreover, personal contact and gatherings have been limited, e.g., by limiting or forbidding access to workplaces or educational institutions, up to the enforcement of nationwide lockdowns [ 1 , 4 ]. Such measures have had notable impacts on the socioeconomic systems of many countries, as well as detrimental effects on the health and wellbeing of individuals [ 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 ].…”