UK-wide lockdown could cost £18bn every month – but this could be a price worth paying, says IEA expert
4 January 2021
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In the Media
Victoria Hewson writes for CapX
4 January 2021
In the Media
Government and Institutions
MEDIA RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Emily Carver, Head of Media, 07715942731
Responding to the Prime Minister’s announcement of a further national lockdown for England, Julian Jessop, Economics Fellow at the free market think tank the Institute of Economic Affairs, said:
“A new UK-wide lockdown may cost 10% of GDP, or about £18 billion every month. On balance, this could be a price worth paying to prevent tens of thousands of premature deaths and other harms if the NHS is overwhelmed with Covid patients.
“There are no easy choices here, but the government has probably done the right thing. The new Covid variant has increased the benefits of locking down, while the rollout of the new vaccines has reduced at least some of the costs.
“There is now light at the end of the tunnel and both households and businesses can look forward to a brighter spring.”
ENDS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Emily Carver, Head of Media, 07715942731
Responding to the Prime Minister’s announcement of a further national lockdown for England, Julian Jessop, Economics Fellow at the free market think tank the Institute of Economic Affairs, said:
“A new UK-wide lockdown may cost 10% of GDP, or about £18 billion every month. On balance, this could be a price worth paying to prevent tens of thousands of premature deaths and other harms if the NHS is overwhelmed with Covid patients.
“There are no easy choices here, but the government has probably done the right thing. The new Covid variant has increased the benefits of locking down, while the rollout of the new vaccines has reduced at least some of the costs.
“There is now light at the end of the tunnel and both households and businesses can look forward to a brighter spring.”
ENDS
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