National lockdown – but is it working?
This seems to be the question on everyone's mind, and with the daily number of cases and deaths increasing every day it is easy to think it's not. What's important to understand is the lag effect...

By Elizabeth Lucy
Twelve days into our UK wide lockdown and as a country we seem to be settling into this new and strange way of life. Even popping to the shop for milk and digestive biscuits (essentials of course) has become a risky business needing planning and a fair amount of forethought.
But is it working? This seems to be the question on everyone’s mind, and with the daily number of cases and deaths increasing every day it is easy to think it is not working. What is important to understand is the lag effect. What we see in healthcare settings is the outcome of what we did 2/3 weeks earlier.
At the moment we are only 12 days into our national lockdown and as such we will likely see an increase in cases for another short while yet. However the impact of the lockdown will become apparent and have an effect on what is happening in our hospitals, ultimately it will save lives.