Young people, who are least likely die from the coronavirus, should be released early from the UK's lockdown to help the economy, a new paper said

• Working people aged between 20 and 30 years-old should be the first out of lockdown to help re-start the economy, according to a new UK study.
• It is estimated that the move would result in 630 deaths, which is a "far smaller risk" than from ending the lockdown for everybody at once.
• The policy briefing paper has caught the attention of UK government officials, who have been looking for an exit strategy after the lockdown.
• The UK has been under lockdown since March 23, and recorded 900 COVID-19 deaths on Wednesday.
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People aged between 20 and 30, who don't live with their parents, should be released early from the coronavirus lockdown in the UK, according to a group of economists.

The academics, at the University of Warwick's Department of Economics, outlined in a policy briefing how "the nation might begin to move forward in the footsteps of the young."

They loosely estimated that 630 avoidable deaths would result from releasing young people early. They called that a "far, far smaller" risk than a general release.

In their paper, authors Andrew J Oswald and Nattavudh Powdthavee of the Centre for Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy wrote: "Some balance will eventually have to be struck between epidemiological and economic objectives."

The UK has been under lockdown since March 23, and the number of deaths there continues to escalate. More than 900 were recorded on Wednesday.

The government is due to review the three-week lockdown order after Easter, but it is "highly likely" that the period could be extended through to May or June, The Sun reported prime ministerial aides as saying.

Given the pressure on the economy, ministers are increasingly seeking a way to reopen the country for business one way or another.

The economists' arguments have attracted the attention of policymakers, with one unnamed civil servant calling it "rather good," according to the Financial Times.

Another joked: "You could even have a maximum age for drinking in pubs,"

Around 3.1 million people in this age group - which spans younger millennials and older "Gen Zs" - are both in employment and don't live with parents, meaning that them going out would not bring an infection to more vulnerable age groups, said the academics.

The economists argued that young people are "substantially safe" with a fatality rate of 0.03% from the virus. Nonetheless they acknowledge that the move "would not be costless in human suffering and pressure on the National Health Service."

However, the estimated 630 deaths would result in a "far, far smaller" risk compared to just releasing everybody, they said.

The main reason for doing this would be to restart the economy, particularly to bring a new workforce to the delivery infrastructure.

Also, they said cooped-up young people "can be expected to be the most prone to aggressive and other dangerous kinds of behavior," while in isolation, as well as being more likely than most to simply ignore the lockdown rules.

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