More or Less

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Sweden’s lockdown lite Jul 11, 2020

Show notes

Unlike its Nordic neighbours, Sweden never imposed a lockdown to stem the spread of coronavirus. Tim Harford speaks to statistician Ola Rosling to find out what the results have been.

Presenter: Tim Harford Producer: Jo Casserly

Picture: A woman wearing a face mask stands at a Stockholm bus stop where a sign reminds passengers to maintain a minimum social distance. Sweden 25 June 2020. Credit: EPA/ Stina Stjernkvist

Why Trump is wrong about the USA’s coronavirus case comeback Jul 04, 2020

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Are cases really rising in the US or are they just testing more? Tim digs into the data.

Why Did the UK Have Such a Bad Covid-19 Epidemic? Jul 01, 2020

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The UK has suffered one of the worst outbreaks of coronavirus anywhere in the world. We’ve been analysing the numbers for the last 14 weeks, and in the last programme of this More or Less series, we look back through the events of March 2020 to ask why things went so wrong - was it bad decision-making, bad advice, or bad luck?

A new Covid-19 drug and a second wave Jun 27, 2020

Show notes

The steroid Dexamethasone has been hailed a “major breakthrough” in the treatment of Covid-19. But what does the data say? Plus, why haven’t mass protests led to a second wave?

Child Poverty, School Inequality and a Second Wave Jun 24, 2020

Show notes

As lockdown eases, why hasn't there been a spike in infections? We get a first look at the evidence for the much-trumpeted Covid-19 treatment, Dexamethasone. Stephanie Flanders tells us what’s happening to the UK economy. Keir Starmer says child poverty is up; Boris Johnson says it’s down, who's right? Plus which children are getting a solid home-school experience, and who is missing out?

Who Should be Quarantined? Jun 20, 2020

Show notes

Some countries are requiring new arrivals to self-isolate, a policy designed to stop infection spreading from areas of high prevalence to low prevalence. Tim Harford and Ruth Alexander find out which countries have the highest rate of Covid-19 infection. Plus, is it really true that the coronavirus mostly kills people who would die soon anyway?

Quarantine, Test and Trace and BODMAS Jun 17, 2020

Show notes

The UK has introduced new rules requiring all people arriving in the country to self-isolate for 14 days. But given the severity of the UK’s outbreak can there be many places more infectious? Is it true that Covid-19 mostly kills people who would die soon anyway? The first figures are out showing how England’s Test and Trace programme is performing, but they contain a mystery we’re keen to resolve. And we play with some mathematical puzzles, courtesy of statistician Jen Rogers.

Spanish coronavirus figures and pangolins Jun 13, 2020

Show notes

Every country's Covid-19 statistics contain their own idiosyncracies, but some problems are larger than others. At the beginning of June, the Spanish government made headlines when they announced they had gone 48 hours without a coronvirus related death. But dig a little deeper, and it's clear a new way of registering cases was hiding the real number. Plus, are Pangolins the most trafficked animal in the world?

(Pangolin unrolling itself after being curled in a protective ball. Credit: Getty images)

Antibody tests, early lockdown advice and European deaths Jun 10, 2020

Show notes

At the start of March the government's Chief Scientific Adviser Sir Patrick Vallance said that the UK’s coronavirus outbreak was four weeks behind the epidemic in Italy. This ability to watch other countries deal with the disease ahead of us potentially influenced the decisions we made about which actions to take and when, including lockdown. So was he right?

Is it true that more people are dying of Covid-19 in the UK than in the 27 countries of the EU put together? We investigate headlines reporting that antibody tests are 100% accurate. Plus, we catch up on how many coronavirus tests the government says it’s now carrying out.

Keep your distance Jun 06, 2020

Show notes

What difference does a metre make? The World Health Organisation recommends that people keep at least 1 metre apart from each other to stop the spread of Covid-19, but different countries have adopted different standards.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends staying six feet apart - that’s just short of 2 metres; in the UK, the rule is 2 metres. But all this has a big impact on the way businesses and societies get back to work. Tim Harford investigates the economic costs and conundrums of keeping our distance in a post-lockdown world.

How can we avoid infection spreading again, while getting on with life?

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