The case for ending the football coronavirus ban

As the huge economic and social costs of the lockdown become more apparent, attention is understandably turning to the exit strategy and, in particular, which of the banned activities can safely be restarted. Professional sport should be one of the first items on the list.

Policy disagreements over the coronavirus lockdown have been somewhat unfairly characterised as pitting epidemiologists, concerned only about public safety, against heartless economists prepared to trade the deaths of loved ones for the sake of pounds and pence.

Of course, in reality, economists care about saving lives too, while public health experts understand that even health policy decisions involve some sort of trade-off in which deaths averted cannot be the only consideration. And in this case, the costs of the restrictions are not just economic. A long, strict lockdown might save lives in the short run but cost lives in the long run – from suicides to cuts in health spending caused by a subsequent depression.