Earlier U.S. lockdown could have saved tens of thousands of lives: study
CGTN
Cots are set up at a possible COVID-19 treatment site Wednesday, April 1, 2020, in San Mateo, California. /AP

Cots are set up at a possible COVID-19 treatment site Wednesday, April 1, 2020, in San Mateo, California. /AP

The U.S. would have registered 36,000 fewer COVID-19 related deaths had the country imposed a lockdown one week earlier in March, a study has found.

Findings by a study conducted by the Columbia University also estimated that up to 83% of deaths could have been avoided if measures had been taken two weeks earlier.

It suggested that 54,000 would have been saved if cities locked down on 1 March.

The research has not yet been peer-reviewed.

The study covers data up to 3 May, when the U.S.' COVID-19 death toll stood at just over 65,300.

As of Thursday 21 May, the country had registered more than 93,600 fatalities with infections exceeding 1.5 million, according to the Johns Hopkins University.

The Colombia University research indicates that if the country had imposed stricter measures against the virus sooner, it could have made a dramatic impact.

It said the findings "underscore the importance of earlier intervention and aggressive response in controlling" the virus.

The figures registered by the U.S. mean the country accounts for 32 percent of global COVID-19 infections and 28.4 percent of the world's COVID-19 deaths. 

Source(s): BBC