Nearly every day we hear about the growing death toll due to COVID-19. But those who have died as a result of the economic downturn are not reported as often.
The COVID-19 death toll continues to rise in Houston and around the world. But the mainstream media is not telling you about the other set of lives lost: the ones who have died due to the extended economic shut down. Those numbers are either not reported, or are underreported.
A growing number of academics are reminding Americans not to forget about the people who have died in connection to the economic downturn. In the past month, job losses have led to divorce, binge drinking, unreported health problems, and in some cases, suicide. Dr. Thomas Duncan is an economics professor at Radford University in Virginia.
“One of the lines I see often is ‘Stop putting profits over people’. But you have people who have built a small business over the course of a decade and it’s a family company. If that pops and never comes back, that is going to be a huge mental strain,” Duncan said.
He also says based on the numbers, it's too soon to know whether the problems caused by the economic shutdown outweigh the viral threat itself.