DO LOCKDOWNS KILL MORE PEOPLE THAN THEY SAVE?

COVID-19Injustice
Written By Baily McDaniel

A CRITICAL LOOK AT THE EFFECTS OF OUR COVID-19 RESPONSE

man on laptop looking out window

Key Facts

  • According to a November survey, about half of Americans, 49%, say they would be very likely to stay home for a month if public health officials recommended it due to a serious outbreak of the virus in their community. [1]

  • A petition has been put forth and signed by over 7000 Christians calling for the need to follow all official guidelines and the advice of public health experts. [2]

  • To date, there have been over 14 million cases of COVID-19 in the United States. [3]

  • As of December 9, The Great Barrington Declaration, a petition opposing COVID-19 lockdowns, has now been signed by 12,717 medical and public health scientists, 38,154 medical practitioners, and 686,210 concerned citizens. [4]

Key Scriptures

  • Matthew 16:25 “For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.”

  • Philippians 2:4 “Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.”

  • James 2:14-18 “What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” 

  • Revelation 12:11 “And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.”

  • John 15:13 “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.”

  • Romans 13:8 “Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law.”

woman+wearing+face+covering

Application

It is easy to think that there are simple answers to the COVID-19 pandemic from a Christian perspective. Many people have said staying at home and wearing a mask is the best way for Christians to love their neighbor as we are biblically commanded to (Mark 12:31). However, is this the only consideration we need to make? A holistic look at the issue of the COVID-19 lockdown may lead us to ask if the lockdown is the best way to love our neighbors. 

What’s At Risk? 

While the primary talking points of the need for a lockdown in the news are all about COVID-19 contractions and recoveries, there are many other questions that need to be addressed. Some of these include mental health, spiritual health, and how certain communities are being negatively affected. 

Mental Health 

Suicide

In recent months, there has been a major spike of suicides in places across the world. In Japan, the number of people who died from suicide in the month of October was higher than the number of people who died from COVID-19. [5] They are not the only country with major deaths due to suicide during the pandemic. India’s government employed one of the world’s strictest lockdowns. According to the Brookings Institute, this “resulted in millions of more Indians entering poverty and exacerbated one of the highest suicide rates in the world.” [6]

America faces many of the same concerns when it comes to suicide, but unfortunately many counties have not released the records of suicides during the COVID-19 pandemic. There has been great difficulty in accessing and interpreting statistics of suicide in 2020. However, there are significant reasons to believe suicide may be on the rise in America as well. According to a CDC survey conducted in June of this year, 25.5% of people aged 18-24 had seriously considered suicide in the last 30 days.

Anxiety and Depression 

This same CDC survey revealed that suicidal ideation and other symptoms of anxiety disorder and depressive disorder considerably increased in April, May, and June of 2020 when compared with the 2019 statistics. The numbers have risen across the board. The presence of anxiety symptoms was approximately three times higher after the start of COVID-19 than in a 2019 survey (25.5% versus 8.1%). Depression symptoms spiked even more than anxiety with a jump in numbers four times as high as last years. As we can see from the data, the seriousness of the effects of the restrictions on mental health can hardly be overstated. 

Physical Health 

Disease   

Protection against COVID-19 has been prioritized by governments and health organizations worldwide, resulting in less emphasis on measures against many other dangerous diseases. COVID-19 restrictions have derailed immunization campaigns. Certain models have expected a major jump (upwards of 290,000) of new cases of HIV as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many diseases that have recently been near to eradication in certain areas, have seen major upticks as a result of our response to COVID-19. For example, in parts of Afghanistan polio cases have been discovered in provinces that have not seen cases in over 20 years as a result of vaccination programs being postponed. [7] It is important to remember that in some other countries as much as 70% of healthcare is provided by international aid groups. The harsh limitations imposed by COVID-19 restrictions have heavily impacted many people’s access to basic healthcare essentials around the world. 

Starvation 

COVID-19 has affected many people’s ability to access and pay for food. Recessions and food shortages have affected the world’s health and nourishment in the past. However, this is an unprecedented time regarding these issues as both the production of food and the ability to buy food has been disrupted. [8] Many people are seeing the effects of this in their own lives with 265 million people expected to go hungry in 2020, which is nearly double the 2019 figures. [9] An additional 10,000 children may die each month this year from malnutrition caused by COVID-19.

Although approximately 9 million people die of hunger each year, the response to starvation has been forced to take a backseat due to COVID-19. In South Sudan, government hospitals are clearing out space in health facilities normally used to house and care for severely malnourished children to make space for COVID-19 patients. [10] Starvation is not only a problem overseas. In the United States, households experiencing food insecurity have nearly tripled. [11] Starvation has been an incredible threat both internationally and domestically and is unfortunately rising due to COVID-19 responses. 

Violence 

Certain forms of violence have also been increasing due to the lockdown orders. The risk of domestic violence has increased both in the United States and internationally. Partners of abusive persons may experience more time in isolation with the abusive person while finding less resources to seek help. The multiple effects of the lockdown have created a “perfect storm” of dangerous circumstances for people living in these situations. In addition to domestic abuse, much of the progress to eliminate child marriages have been reversed. 2.5 million more girls around the world are at risk of child marriage due to COVID-19. “Save the Children predicts that as many as 10 million children might never return to school because of the pandemic, most of those being girls.” [12] Poverty and lack of access to education are factors which often contribute to spikes in child marriages. As both of these factors are clear results of the COVID-19 restrictions, child marriage will likely continue to rise. Violence has been a result of COVID-19 restrictions in almost all communities and has had a disproportionate impact on women and girls. Therefore, it should be of significant importance when discussing ethical responses to COVID-19. 

Spiritual Health 

Spiritual and mental health can be very closely related, but for Christians, being spiritually healthy often entails much more than being happy. For many Christians, spiritual health consists of good community with other believers (Heb. 10:25), avoidance of sinful behaviors (James 1:14-15), and emphasizing time with God (Matt. 6:6). Looking at these features of spiritual health it becomes clear why these may be at risk during the COVID-19 lockdown. Community with other believers is one of the most obvious disruptions to spiritual health during this time. But in addition to the regular Sunday services being cancelled, moved outside, or moved online, it is much more difficult to meet with pastors and counselors to work through spiritual problems. These meetings and time with spiritual leaders can be crucial to one’s own spiritual health as well as the health of their relationships. Many churches provide marital, family and individual counseling which helps members of families and communities as they interact with one another. Similarly, support groups for addictions have been canceled or moved online. This means that those struggling with addiction are essentially left alone or without as much support. Many of the regularly scheduled Bible studies that fuel one’s personal relationship with God have also been cancelled. These and many other reasons show that the COVID-19 restrictions are at best a risk to spiritual health and at worst completely detrimental. 

Participating in these spiritual health activities has a significant impact on the holistic health of an individual. Statistics have shown that people who attend church regularly are more healthy. One study revealed that “frequent churchgoers, (people who attended church more than once a week), had a 55% reduction of all-cause mortality risk compared to the people who did not attend church services.” Spiritual health greatly affects all aspects of one’s health and wellness and should be considered when deciding on a response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Where to Go from Here?

Awareness is important. We cannot put our head in the sand to these ethical dilemmas just because they make us uncomfortable. Philippians 2:4 calls us to look out not only for our own interests but for others as well. Looking out for the needs of others means that we must be diligent in finding out just what those needs are. This article has given a brief overview of some of the major concerns facing people globally as a result of our imposed restrictions. However, this is not comprehensive and Christians should continue to look for ways in which communities and individuals are being adversely affected by the choices our governments are making. 

Christians should be careful to avoid any form of selfishness as we seek to respond to this pandemic. The US does provide a lot of aid to other countries and these harsh restrictions could have lasting effects on these humanitarian projects. As we search our hearts to ensure we do nothing out of selfishness, we must rely on the Spirit to guide us in these ethical decisions (Phil. 2:3). 

Next, Christians should take a holistic approach to wellness. While Christians agree that we want to love our neighbor well during this time, we must ask the question of how to do that best. Humans are not simply a physical body, but are emotional and spiritual beings (Ecc. 12:7). A holistic approach to wellness means that we recognize this and do not favor the body to the detriment of the spirit. Meeting needs in a holistic manner is a biblical teaching. We see this in James 2 where he uses the example, “If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?” This shows that we should neither disregard the needs of the body nor the needs of the spirit. Christians should seek balance when the two come into tension as they have during the pandemic. 

Finally, Christians should not be afraid to speak out about the detrimental effects of a lockdown, even when this view may be unpopular (2 Tim. 1:7). Increasingly, those who oppose shelter-in-place orders or other COVID-19 restrictions have been looked upon poorly by the news media. However, this should not affect our response as we weigh the effects of these orders. As Christians, part of our job is to be a voice for the voiceless (Prov. 31:8-9). There are many communities that have been silenced during this pandemic as the world focuses only on the number of COVID-19 cases. Christians may disagree on how to balance their care for persons at high-risk of COVID-19 and those feeling the major effects of the restrictions, and this is okay. However, we should have discussions that work for solutions that recognize the inherent dignity of each group (Gen. 1:27). 

man with hands on window looking outside

Conclusion

It can be very easy to focus on the needs of our immediate neighbors. However, it is important for Christians to also consider the needs of those in other countries and other situations. Living in a developed country, it can be easy to forget the major needs of those in less fortunate situations and around the world. As we look at the data concerning the results of the COVID-19 restrictions, it is a sign that we must be more intentional in loving our neighbors in this pandemic (Mark 12:31). Many Christians have looked at their neighborhoods and thought the best way to love their neighbor was to advocate for shelter-in-place laws. While this could be the appropriate response in some situations, it is also important to consider the lasting effect that such policies will have on our neighbors both near and far. There may not be simple solutions to these issues, but it is important that we make ourselves aware of the situation and respond wisely.

Baily McDaniel
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