The Coronavirus Response Does Not Take Place in a Vacuum

“Similarly, University of Zurich researchers in 2015—using data from the time of the Great Recession—estimated that unemployment causes 45,000 suicides per year.”

As of April 23rd, COVID-19 is estimated to have killed approximately 188,000 people worldwide, and the virus continues to cause great devastation to the United States and the world—and, in particular, to those who have lost loved ones. Furthermore, a myriad of studies from some of the world’s most renowned academic and governmental institutions suggest that an even greater number of deaths will be caused by our COVID-19 response than from the virus itself.

The United Nations estimates that COVID-19 mitigation strategies—and the resulting economic slowdown—will push an additional 130 million people into acute hunger by the end of 2020. “We’ve never seen anything like this before,” Arif Husain, chief economist at the United Nations World Food Program, told The New York Times. Declines in the tourism industry, combined with dropping oil prices, and expected contractions of foreign aid are all likely to blame, according to World Food Program Executive Director David Beasley. As Beasley suggested, “There is also a real danger that more people could potentially die from the economic impact of COVID-19 than from the virus itself.” As I mentioned in my previous piece on COVID-19, economic downturns—across the board—result in the loss of life. For instance, in 2016, a Harvard University study estimated that the Great Recession and resulting unemployment led to an extra 260,000 deaths in Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) nations. (It is further estimated that this number of extra cancer deaths reached 500,000 globally.) Similarly, University of Zurich researchers in 2015—using data from the time of the Great Recession—estimated that unemployment causes 45,000 suicides per year.

Studies such as these alert us to the unintended consequences of slowing down an economy, and other troubling signs are already emerging. Due to stay-at-home orders, U.S. hospitals are reporting increases in child abuse cases: “This happened faster than we imagined…I mean this happened in a week and these are really bad cases of abuse,” as Christi Thornhill, a hospital director at Cook Children’s Medical Center in Fort Worth, Texas, said.  An alarming increase in spousal abuse is also being reported across the United States, with “People being locked in rooms, being shot through the doors, prevented from leaving, having to stay because he’s afraid she will go out and get it. Crazy stuff,” as one domestic violence shelter’s CEO put it.