Pandemic By The Numbers: Counting The Full Cost of The Coronavirus
Each day, the novel coronavirus' death toll continues to climb worldwide, yet its devastating cost reaches even beyond the human lives it claims. Here's a breakdown by the numbers.
1 vs. ?
The U.S. is now No. 1 in the world in both coronavirus cases and deaths, accounting for nearly a quarter of each. While Italy was the first European country to see its cases and death numbers skyrocket, it now sits and No. 3 in the world, behind No. 2 Spain.
However, it must be noted that experts suspect that China, believed to be the birthplace of this novel coronavirus, has not given a full accounting of all its people who have died.
7 vs. 211
The novel coronavirus has now crashed into 211 countries on all seven continents, touching every corner of the world.
60,000 vs. 200,000
Depending on which model you believe and which day's numbers you accept, the final death toll in the U.S. could end up being as "low" as 60,000 or as high as 200,000. While the latest model released estimated the ultimate number would reach 60,308 by August 4, that was assuming that states and localities would maintain social distancing and put proper testing, tracing, and containing procedures in place before sending people back to "normal life" -- working, shopping and interacting. With states like Georgia, Florida, South Carolina and more beginning to roll back restrictions -- before even achieving Level 1 of the federal government's metrics -- that projected death toll is sure to rise again.
By comparison, "...the last US pandemic, the H1N1 virus, killed an estimated 12,469 in the US, according to the CDC. And the 2017-2018 flu season, the deadliest one in a decade, killed an estimated 61,000 -- less than one-third of [Dr. Anthony] Fauci's prediction," reports CNN. Dr. Anthony Fauci is the country's top medical expert on the coronavirus pandemic.
150,000 vs 20 million
Today, the US is performing about 150,000 coronavirus tests per day, according to Dr. Tom Frieden, former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A report by Harvard University's Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics, however, states that the country needs to give at least 5 million per day in order "to truly be ready to ' "fully remobilize" the economy by late July" and ensuring we that we do not trigger a coronavirus resurgence.
1.6 billion
Worldwide, 1.6 billion children have been held out of school buildings, many of whom have shifted to virtual learning. However, this has created a "haves and have nots" dynamic for kids who do and do not have access to necessary technologies, and it has left millions of American children with limited access to the free meals they depend on.
-2,997 vs. $-37.63
The Dow suffered the worst point drop in its history -- 2,997 points -- on March 16, one day after the Federal Reserve Bank took rates down to almost 0.0%. One month later, on April 20, the price of US oil per barrel has tanked to $-37.63 -- the lowest it has ever been New York Mercantile Exchange opened oil futures trading in 1983 -- and it could go even lower with 97% of Americans under stay-at-home orders and no one on the road.
13.5% vs 33%
With 22 million Americans applying for unemployment in the last month, the known unemployment rate is roughly 13.5%. The true amount is likely higher, as people who are not working but have not applied for benefits are excluded from that number. At the same time, 1 in 3 renters, or 33%, did not pay their rent on time for the week ending April 5. Though some government protections and evictions moratoriums are in place, not everyone is covered.
$113 billion vs. $225 billion vs. $2 trillion
Airlines could take as much as a $113 billion hit, the restaurant industry could be gutted by $225 billion and the global could lose during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the International Air Transport Society, National Restaurant Association, and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.
