Coronavirus: what "cost" for each life saved during the first confinement?

Extreme measure to try to curb the coronavirus epidemic, is confinement the adequate measure, in view of its economic cost compared to its health efficiency?

This is the question asked by several observers.

While Emmanuel Macron announced Wednesday evening a reconfinement for at least a month, the economist Patrick Artus tries to answer the question of the "profitability" of this device in the columns of the

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Each life saved by the first confinement cost six million euros, affirms Patrick Artus, which is based on a simple calculation: a month of confinement would correspond to 20,000 lives saved, but it is also five points of GDP in less, which represents 120 billion euros.

Each life has therefore cost France six million euros.

A lack of government anticipation?

A cold but justified calculation, according to the economist, who compares it to that practiced in transport, when one wonders whether it is better to build a motorway or a TGV line, which saves lives.

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Conclusion of this comparison, according to him: a life costs six times more for the Covid than for the highways.

And he castigates the lack of anticipation of the government, condemned according to him to rectify its budget at each stage of the epidemic.

But it recognizes merit in the public spending conceded since the beginning of the crisis, whatever the amount: they will make it possible to limit the irreversible costs, that is to say those linked to business bankruptcies and job losses. .