The indirect health impacts of COVID19 restrictions: a strong debate informed by weak evidence

KEY MESSAGES There has been concern, and much heated debate, on the possible negative effects of restrictions, stay-at-home orders and lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic. Most published studies on health impacts of restrictions and lockdowns are low quality and often severely biased. Focusing on the few studies that approximate a change in restrictions alone (i.e. not the impact of the pandemic per se), we see clear adverse impacts of lockdowns on intimate partner violence and physical activity. Regarding diseases, road traffic crashes decrease, and anxiety increases. A discussion driven by science (not politics) is urgently needed on what lockdowns can deliver, their limitations and how to optimally deploy them – along other public health strategies – in the fight against COVID-19.