This Abridge News topic aggregates four unique arguments on different sides of the debate. Here are the quick facts to get you started:

THE QUICK FACTS

• A March poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 45 percent of adults said their mental health had been affected by the pandemic. This effect was significantly larger (by about 10 percentage points) for those who were sheltering in place vs. those who were not.
• Before the pandemic, 20% (46.6 million in 2017) of U.S. adults lived with a mental illness (NIH). In 2018, nearly a third of American adults said they felt "worried, nervous, or anxious on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis" (KFF).
• A report by the Well Being Trust and the Robert Graham Center estimates that alcohol/drug-related deaths and suicides could range from 28,000 to 154,000 due to coronavirus lockdowns.
• Researchers at Brigham Young University have found that social isolation is twice as harmful to physical health as obesity. Furthermore, researchers at the University of Miami’s Touch Research Institute argue that "touch deprivation" can exacerbate depression and weaken the immune system.

CLICK TO VIEW OPINIONS ranging from Uncritical of Lockdowns to Critical of Lockdowns