Nineteen Tragic Facts About Covid 19
By Bill Quigley for Common Dreams
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| Rhode Island's grimmest statistic (WPRI.com) |
50
million. 50
million people are now facing hunger at least once a month, including 1 in 4
children. The rate of adults who sometimes or often do not have enough to
eat is double in Black and Latino homes, according to the Associated Press.
30
million. 30
million people are facing eviction as of December 31,
2020 when the current Centers for Disease Control moratorium on evictions ends.
There has been a 70% increase in the number of people paying their rent by credit card.
16
million. 16
million unemployed workers have already lost or will lose their federal
unemployment benefits by December 26, 2020. 4.4 million people have
already exhausted their federal benefits and another 12 million people stand to
lose their unemployment benefits by December 26, 2020 unless Congress passes
new laws, according to the Century Foundation.
12
million.
As many as 12 million people who were entitled to
the $1200 stimulus check never received it.
10
million. Two
major national law firms and several national restaurant chains received $10 million dollars each from the
Paycheck Protection Program. More than 25% of the $500 billion in aid
went to just one percent of borrowers.
7
million. 7
million more Americans, about 11%, now live in poverty, than did months ago
when the $600 Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation program was
operating. NBC News.
2.2
million. Since
January, 2.2 million women have lost or quit
their jobs or are no longer looking for work because mothers have been forced
to choose between caring for their children and their jobs.
1.5
million. Of
the record high 1.5 million homeless children in the US, over 400,000 have
dropped off their school’s radar during the pandemic. Education Week.
1.4
million. One
million four hundred thousand children have tested positive for COVID. American Academy of Pediatrics.
110,000. 110,000
restaurants have closed permanently, according to the National Restaurant Association.
106,000. At least 106,000 nursing home residents and staff died from COVID as of early December, around 39% of the overall deaths reported. NBC News.
600%. Failure
rates in math and English jumped 600% among low income students in some school
districts recently in Maryland. Nationally grade
school students are falling significantly behind in math and the percentages
may even be worse because a large percentage of students were not even present when
testing was done. Several states report that many fewer children enrolled back in school this
fall than were there a year ago.
400%. Covid 19
rates are 400% higher in state and federal prisons than among the general
public and the death rate is more than twice as high. National Commission on COVID-19 and Criminal Justice.
400%. Black,
Hispanic and Native Americans are four times as likely to be hospitalized for
COVID than whites. CNN.
200%. The risk
of being exposed to COVID at the grocery store is twice as high in low income neighborhoods as in high
income neighborhoods.
37%. African
Americans are 37% more likely to die from COVID than
whites; Asians are 53% more likely; Hispanics 16%.
31%. There has
been a 31% increase in mental health emergency room visits for children since
the pandemic began and an overall 24% increase in emergency room visits for
children. Centers for Disease Control.
16%. College applications are down 16% from
first generation students and lower income students.
13. In 13 states, the unemployment benefits provided fall below the federal poverty line of $245 a week according to the Government Accountability Office.
Bill Quigley is
Associate Director of the Center for Constitutional Rights and a law professor
at Loyola University New Orleans. He is a Katrina survivor and has been
active in human rights in Haiti for years. He volunteers with the Institute for
Justice and Democracy in Haiti (IJDH) and the Bureau de Avocats Internationaux
(BAI) in Port au Prince. Contact Bill at quigley77@gmail.com