As June nears, and more and more restrictions are easing and more and more people are socialising in groups of friends and family, some people have began asking whether lockdown has done more harm than good.

Cases rose rapidly back in December and while it was a necessary step to prevent the pandemic worsening even further, there are many genuine questions about whether lockdown has done more harm than good – particularly in regards to mental health and children’s education. The stay-at-home orders have meant that many people have struggled to get to work and earn the money that they need to live, with what the police say is an “inevitable” rise in reports of domestic abuse and many people feeling afraid to go to the doctors, and, even if they do, having appointments and check ups delayed as a result of Covid.

All of these issues have arisen as a result of lockdown, and while it is vitally important to recognise the benefits of lockdown it is impossible to ignore the glaring truth – that lockdown and stay at home orders have also created a large amount of harm; currently 4.9% of the UK population is unemployed and experts are expecting that number to rise to 6.6% by the end of the year. This demonstrates some of the negative effects that lockdown has had on the population, after taking into account the loss of jobs, decline in mental wellbeing and education, rise in domestic abuse cases and the lack of essential exercise, the question remains – has lockdown done more harm than good?