WASHINGTON, D.C., October 15, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) — Dr. Scott Atlas, a recently appointed advisor to President Trump’s Coronavirus Task Force, said the architects of the COVID-19 lockdowns “should be held accountable for what they did.”

In a Fox News interview yesterday, Atlas outlined the enormous detriments to public health that result from lockdowns. He criticized those who were advocating for more lockdowns to help prevent the spread of the virus, saying they were “simply out of touch with average Americans.”

“Prolonged lockdowns are a complete disaster,” said Atlas. “People have been killed by people who want prolonged lockdowns.”

Atlas pointed to data regarding the hidden effect of lockdowns upon people’s health.

Out of those scheduled for chemotherapy, only half appeared for their appointments, meaning that “650,000 Americans” missed crucial treatment. The reason for this, Atlas said, is purely “out of the fear instilled by our so-called public health experts.”

Atlas referred to the effect the lockdowns were having on children and young adults. Just as a result of closing the schools, the number of child abuse cases has increased dramatically, with “more than 200,000 cases of child abuse not reported during the two months of spring school closures.”

A CDC report showed that “one out of four young college-aged Americans have contemplated killing themselves during the month of June,” Atlas said. “This is completely off the rails.”

But he was even more scathing with regard to the proponents of lockdowns, whom he accused of having committed crimes against humanity.

“History will record the faces of the public health expertise as some of the most sinful, egregious, epic failures in the history of public policy,” Atlas stated.

“They have killed people with their lack of understanding and their lack of caring about not just the impact of cases of COVID-19, a virus that the overwhelming majority of people do well in.”

The White House advisor distinguished between COVID-19 policies and their actual outcomes. “They never cared to considered the impact of the policy itself,” he said, “and the policy itself has been a complete epic failure, and honestly some people say a crime against humanity — these people should be held accountable for what they did.”

President Donald Trump repeatedly warned about preventative COVID measures being more harmful than the disease itself. In March, the president famously tweeted, “We cannot let the cure be worse than the problem itself.”

After being discharged from Walter Reed Medical Center earlier this month, where he had received treatment for the virus, Trump urged people not to be afraid: “Feeling really good! Don’t be afraid of Covid. Don’t let it dominate your life.”

The Great Barrington Declaration, released on October 4 and already signed by over 500,000 doctors, medical professionals and citizens, warns that “[c]urrent lockdown policies are producing devastating effects on short and long-term public health”, with the effects being both physically and mentally damaging to society at large.