We are certain that this “COVID-peak” is artificial because it: i. occurs sharply (one-month width) at an unprecedented location in the seasonal cycle of all-cause mortality (centered at the end of March), 2 ii. is absent in many jurisdictions (34 of the USA States have no “COVID-peak”), and iii. varies widely in magnitude from jurisdiction to jurisdiction in which it occurs. We suggest that: • the unprecedented strict mass quarantine and isolation of both sick and healthy elderly people, together and separately, killed many of them, • that this quarantine and isolation is the cause of the “COVID-peak” event that we have quantified, • and that the medical mechanism is mainly via psychological stress and social isolation of individuals with health vulnerabilities.
