CHN’s COVID-19 Watch: Tracking Hardship September 25, 2020

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September 25, 2020

COVID-19 Hardship

September 25, 2020

The abandonment edition. It is becoming increasingly evident that Sen. Mitch McConnell and his GOP colleagues are prepared to abandon their constituents in their time of dire need. They have resisted a vote on a robust COVID-19 aid package.  Senators are planning to leave town – and look at the carnage they are leaving behind in the wake of their hasty retreat. More than 200,000 deaths – roughly one in every 1,600 people in the U.S. has died of COVID-19 — and on Friday the U.S. eclipsed 7 million confirmed cases. Progress in slowing the march of the pathogen has stalled. Twenty-eight states plus Puerto Rico have shown increases in the seven-day average of new cases since the final week of August. Job loss remains staggering – in August, the unemployment rate among whites was 7.3%; among Blacks it was 13%, the largest disparity in almost six years. A new survey shows substantial shares of Latinx, Black and Native American households – populations who are at high risk of getting sick and dying from COVID-19 – have not been protected from financial problems. These problems include depleting their savings and having problems paying for food and rent. Meanwhile, many parents face the agonizing choice between returning to work and staying at home to care for their children due to a lack of suitable, affordable child care and in-person schooling options. These parents will continue to struggle without federal and state support for child care. 

Tell your Senators: Shame on you for abandoning your constituents and abandoning your country. We will not forget. Retweet this.

6.9 million/  

202,827 

The number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the U.S.

 

$1 billion

 

The amount of money Congress gave the Pentagon in March to build up the country’s supplies of medical equipment. Instead, the money has been mostly funneled to defense contractors and used for making things such as jet engine parts, body armor, and dress uniforms. Retweet this.

 

More than half

 

Of the 22 million payroll jobs lost in March and April, more than half have not returned. Retweet this.

 

32% 

 

The percent of parents who say a lack of suitable child care makes them less likely to work this fall. 42% of parents with children said they lost jobs or income in August or September, compared with 27 percent of families without children. Retweet this.

 

22%

  

The decline in vaccinations for children under 2 years old between March and May of this year compared with the same time period last year. The same data from Medicaid and CHIP also showed a 44% drop in child screenings, and experts worry about long-term health outcomes.

 

More than 75%

 

The percentage of people under the age of 21 who died from COVID-19 and were Latinx, Black, or Native American. Those three groups comprise just 41% of the U.S. under-21 population.

 

$6 billion

 

The amount of money states desperately need in order to distribute COVID-19 vaccines to Americans early next year, according to testimony offered by CDC Director Robert Redfield.

 

1 in 3

 

The number of Latinx households that report serious problems paying their credit card bills, loans or other debt, utilities, and their mortgage or rent, according to a recent NPR survey. For Black households, it’s close to 3 in 10 with such serious money problems.

 

More than 6 in 10 

The number of Latinx households reporting that adult household members have lost their jobs, been furloughed, or had wages or hours reduced since the start of the pandemic. The same applies to 4 in 10 Black and Native American households.

 

87%

 

The percent of restaurants and bars in New York City that could not fully pay their August rent, according to a survey by the NYC Hospitality Alliance. 34% could not pay any rent at all. More than 1,000 NYC restaurants and bars have closed permanently since the pandemic began.