Lockdowns made little difference to the number of people who have died from coronavirus, a study has claimed.

Researchers from the University of Toronto and University of Texas found that whether a country was locked down or not was “not associated” with the Covid-19 death rate.

Instead, obesity rates and age played a large role, the study said.

Experts compared mortality rates and cases in 50 badly-hit countries up until May 1 and calculated that only 33 out of every million people had died from the virus.