Study: Lockdowns cost countless jobs, don’t appear to have saved lives

Over the course of the year, states imposed and eased a variety of restrictions in response to the level of virus cases and COVID-19 deaths. Where lockdowns were lifted, unemployment fell, but the restrictions didn’t seem to nudge death rates. By March 8, 2021, for example, New Jersey had recorded 2,656 deaths per 1 million residents, while New York had 2,500 per 1 million residents, according to the Covid Tracking Project. South Dakota had 2,149 deaths per 1 million residents, but loose-rules Utah had just 617. The study found little correlation at all between the strictness of lockdown measures and death rates. In WalletHub’s latest calculations from early April, 13 states — including New York, New Jersey and California — plus Washington D.C., still had tight restrictions in place, but were also seeing relatively high death rates.