A study carried out by Ipsos found that young people have suffered most as a result of the lockdowns and that almost half of adults are seeing family and friends less than they used to and are staying home more.
Incidentally, two years ago today, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the first lockdown.
According to The Mail Online:
But the pandemic’s harmful legacy is clear. Of the 1,229 adults surveyed, a third said their physical and mental health had declined – with women particularly affected – and the same proportion had put on weight.
Three in ten said they feel lonelier now than before the pandemic, with young people suffering most, and almost half of adults see friends and family less and stay at home more often than they used to.
Half said they spend more time looking at screens, with two-fifths still checking social media daily for Covid updates. One in three also said their quality of sleep had worsened, getting in fewer hours and feeling more disturbed at night.
Two-thirds said waiting times for GP appointments and routine tests were worse, and half thought the NHS could deliver a good service to patients.
Gideon Skinner, research director at Ipsos, said: ‘These findings, marking the two-year anniversary of the first national lockdown, are further evidence of how life in the UK has changed for many people, affecting a range of aspects of our physical and mental health.’
The terms of reference for the forthcoming public inquiry into the Covid-19 pandemic have been published. They state the inquiry’s intention to cover the public health response.
Baroness Hallett will chair the inquiry. Will she properly scrutinise the public health response? Will she properly scrutinise those who made the decision to put the country in lockdown three times?
Will she properly scrutinise the damage to public health caused by lockdowns?
I’m not holding my breath.