by James Gant at Daily Mail
States that imposed the harshest lockdowns had the most devastating impact on the public, the most wide-ranging study into Covid restrictions in the US to date has found.
New York, California, New Jersey and Illinois were panned for their pandemic performance after bringing in draconian measures to shut their citizens in their homes.
The Democrat Governors’ policies caused high death rates, ruined children’s education and destroyed businesses due to the severe curbs on freedom, researchers found as they slapped them with an F-grade.
Nine out of the ten worst responses to the pandemic were in blue states, the report said, with only Republican-run Maryland bucking the trend and coming seventh last.
Meanwhile places that allowed their residents more freedom as coronavirus swept across the country appeared to fair better over the last two years.
Florida fared sixth, with its Governor Ron DeSantis condemned in the early days of the pandemic for what critics claimed was a reckless desire to reopen too quickly.
Utah, Nebraska, Vermont, Montana and South Dakota were also praised by analysts for their pandemic response which did not cause more Covid deaths.
The Republican-led areas – which dominated nine out of the top ten places in the study – have seen their economies remain strong and unemployment figures stay steady due to fewer restrictions.
The report, written by the National Bureau of Economic Research, said shutting down during the pandemic was ‘by far the biggest mistake governors and state officials made’.
It judged states on their economy, education and mortality and compiled a comprehensive list showing how they now stand as coronavirus dies down.
The bombshell study comes amid fears coronavirus restrictions may be phased back in as cases of the virus creep up, with Philadelphia bringing back its indoor mask mandate only a month after lifting it…
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