8 ms·

At least based on my experience in the US the "lockdown" orders in practice were not significantly more strict than the government issuing very strong recommend

by eli 5y ago

At least based on my experience in the US the "lockdown" orders in practice were not significantly more strict than the government issuing very strong recommendations.

brg 5y ago
I agree on a social behavior point of view. However, there is nuance. Very strong recommendations don't close public and private schools, day care, public parks and beaches, nor significantly curtail economic activity in restaurants and other non-essential businesses.
- eli 5y ago
  Schools here had already been closed for two weeks before a stay-at-home order was issued, but I get your point. That said, in April 2020 I assure you that economic activity in restaurants and non-essential businesses would have been severely disrupted regardless of government action. Most were already closed or take-out only.
aantix 5y ago
The first few months where everything was closed, including parks and beaches?
- ryandrake 5y ago
  I don't recall any point, at least in my region: Bay Area, CA, when people universally complied with these closures. I think OP's point is: regardless of whether things were ordered closed, enough people were out and about horsing around, ignoring the closures, that nothing was effectively closed. There was no real lockdown in the USA, if you go beyond just looking at the mandates and take into account people's actual behavior. So I'm not sure how they review effects of a lockdown that never happened.
  - concinds 5y ago
    Unless you plan on deploying the U.S. military on every street and beach during the next lockdown, what we saw was what happens when a lockdown is declared. They're measuring the efficacy of an intervention: lockdowns being declared; high/low compliance is irrelevant to the intervention's effectiveness, since compliance isn't within the government's control.
  - landemva 5y ago
    'There was no real lockdown in the USA ' Not really true. Hawaii closed parks, trails, and beaches. https://www.travelandleisure.com/travel-news/hawaii-coronavirus-cases-inter-island-travel-restrictions https://www.travelandleisure.com/travel-news/hawaii-coronavi... ' Honolulu, city parks were closed on Aug. 8 along with beaches and state parks and indoor attractions like bowling alleys and arcades. ' Colorado closed all ski areas. https://coloradosun.com/2020/03/14/jared-polis-executive-order-ski-resorts/ https://coloradosun.com/2020/03/14/jared-polis-executive-ord...
    - eli 5y ago
      Closing parks and beaches is definitely something but is it fair to call that a "real lockdown"? Compared to places with curfews and travel restrictions?
      - s1artibartfast 5y ago
        It's definitely something, I would call it a crappy ineffective and poorly advised lockdown
    - epgui 5y ago
      The problem is that the effectiveness of lockdowns depends on the degree to which you are able to compartmentalize. If some regions have a lockdown and not others, but people are able to freely move from one region to another, then the least strict policy will be the one (roughly speaking) limiting disease transmission. The stringency index should be aggregated as the minimum of all areas that allow for freedom of movement.
sharken 5y ago
Well, here a recommendation have been the same as "You must do this". Only the legislation does not support using that wording, so recommendation was chosen.
chrismcb 5y ago
Lockdown orders across a lot of the US required non essential businesses to close. It wasn't a "recommendation" as people were thrown in jail for having businesses open

by eli 5y ago

At least based on my experience in the US the "lockdown" orders in practice were not significantly more strict than the government issuing very strong recommendations.

brg 5y ago

I agree on a social behavior point of view. However, there is nuance. Very strong recommendations don't close public and private schools, day care, public parks and beaches, nor significantly curtail economic activity in restaurants and other non-essential businesses.

eli 5y ago
Schools here had already been closed for two weeks before a stay-at-home order was issued, but I get your point. That said, in April 2020 I assure you that economic activity in restaurants and non-essential businesses would have been severely disrupted regardless of government action. Most were already closed or take-out only.

aantix 5y ago

The first few months where everything was closed, including parks and beaches?

ryandrake 5y ago
I don't recall any point, at least in my region: Bay Area, CA, when people universally complied with these closures. I think OP's point is: regardless of whether things were ordered closed, enough people were out and about horsing around, ignoring the closures, that nothing was effectively closed. There was no real lockdown in the USA, if you go beyond just looking at the mandates and take into account people's actual behavior. So I'm not sure how they review effects of a lockdown that never happened.
- concinds 5y ago
  Unless you plan on deploying the U.S. military on every street and beach during the next lockdown, what we saw was what happens when a lockdown is declared. They're measuring the efficacy of an intervention: lockdowns being declared; high/low compliance is irrelevant to the intervention's effectiveness, since compliance isn't within the government's control.
- landemva 5y ago
  'There was no real lockdown in the USA ' Not really true. Hawaii closed parks, trails, and beaches. https://www.travelandleisure.com/travel-news/hawaii-coronavirus-cases-inter-island-travel-restrictions https://www.travelandleisure.com/travel-news/hawaii-coronavi... ' Honolulu, city parks were closed on Aug. 8 along with beaches and state parks and indoor attractions like bowling alleys and arcades. ' Colorado closed all ski areas. https://coloradosun.com/2020/03/14/jared-polis-executive-order-ski-resorts/ https://coloradosun.com/2020/03/14/jared-polis-executive-ord...
  - eli 5y ago
    Closing parks and beaches is definitely something but is it fair to call that a "real lockdown"? Compared to places with curfews and travel restrictions?
    - s1artibartfast 5y ago
      It's definitely something, I would call it a crappy ineffective and poorly advised lockdown
  - epgui 5y ago
    The problem is that the effectiveness of lockdowns depends on the degree to which you are able to compartmentalize. If some regions have a lockdown and not others, but people are able to freely move from one region to another, then the least strict policy will be the one (roughly speaking) limiting disease transmission. The stringency index should be aggregated as the minimum of all areas that allow for freedom of movement.

sharken 5y ago

Well, here a recommendation have been the same as "You must do this". Only the legislation does not support using that wording, so recommendation was chosen.

chrismcb 5y ago

Lockdown orders across a lot of the US required non essential businesses to close. It wasn't a "recommendation" as people were thrown in jail for having businesses open