‘People will die’ defence of lockdown is no longer enough

While there was no increase in the suicide rate to 31 January this year, the coroner found that 'one in 10 of the 634 deaths was linked to COVID-19 stress'. Many of these are young people. By contrast more than 90% of the Covid deaths in Australia are in people aged 70 and over.

Further, The Cancer Council of Victoria estimates that 2,530 cancers may have gone undiagnosed in Victoria in over just six and a half months during the COVID-19 pandemic last year. Experts fear that this will result in a future 'cancer mortality spike'.

Thus on the deficit side of the lockdown scoreboard, clarity is starting to emerge regarding the lives lost due to the response Covid. Added to this is the emerging brutal economic toll that lockdowns will inflict on many people - in August alone 72 Victorian businesses went into liquidation.

That said, the reality is that lockdowns will continue (even once the 70% to 80% vaccination target is reached) and enjoy majority support unless opponents shift their criticisms from the impact that the lockdowns have on so-called fundamental rights to precisely detailing the exact concrete interests that have been destroyed by lockdowns.