Skip to main content
WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN

U.S. Lockdown One Week Earlier Would Have Saved 36,000 Lives, Study Finds

Epidemiologists at Columbia estimate locking down two weeks earlier would have saved 54,000 lives.

GettyImages-1214933747_hibivf

Christopher Furlong/Getty

By Blake Montgomery

The United States could have saved 36,000 lives had it instituted widespread anti-coronavirus measures around March 7, a week earlier than most states and cities did, a study from Columbia University found. Two weeks earlier, and 54,000 coronavirus victims would still be alive, researchers estimated. The pandemic devastated cities and shocked the American economy in a matter of weeks. The lead epidemiologist on the study, Jeffrey Shaman, told The New York Times, “It’s a big, big difference. That small moment in time, catching it in that growth phase, is incredibly critical in reducing the number of deaths.” 

Read it at The New York Times

TRENDING NOW