
Coronavirus pandemic may lead to 75,000 “deaths of despair” - fortran77
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/coronavirus-deaths-suicides-drugs-alcohol-pandemic-75000/
======
guscost
Now add in deaths due to the following reasons, and you'll start to get the
real picture of what we've done.

People who are avoiding treatment for heart attacks, strokes, and other
critical conditions:

[https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/patients-with-heart-
at...](https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/patients-with-heart-attacks-
strokes-and-even-appendicitis-vanish-from-
hospitals/2020/04/19/9ca3ef24-7eb4-11ea-9040-68981f488eed_story.html)

[https://www.bmj.com/content/369/bmj.m1931](https://www.bmj.com/content/369/bmj.m1931)

People who are not scheduling cancer screenings, heart bypass surgery, and
other elective procedures:

[https://agoodwar.com/the-ban-on-elective-procedures-is-
killi...](https://agoodwar.com/the-ban-on-elective-procedures-is-killing-more-
people-than-covid-19)

People who will get tuberculosis:

[http://www.stoptb.org/assets/documents/news/Modeling%20Repor...](http://www.stoptb.org/assets/documents/news/Modeling%20Report_1%20May%202020_FINAL.pdf)

People who will starve:

[https://www.france24.com/en/20200422-un-says-food-
shortages-...](https://www.france24.com/en/20200422-un-says-food-shortages-
due-to-covid-19-pandemic-could-lead-to-humanitarian-catastrophe)

~~~
fortran77
And just the increased insecurity, job loss, and upheaval, will probably have
bad effects for years to come.

I feel we know enough about the virus now and how it spreads that many things
can re-open, and governments/courts should affrim the rights of businesses to
require masks and enforce limiting the number of people in the store, etc.
They could also make sure masks--proper surgical masks (for people at low
risk) and N-95 ventilators (for people at high risk) are available.

~~~
jjeaff
I don't see any reason for courts to affirm either of those things since
limiting occupancy and requiring masks are clearly within the rights of
private companies and always have been.

Perhaps courts might need to affirm them for use on public property and public
lands like parks.

~~~
fortran77
That's what you and I believe, of course. But some people don't and that's
what courts are for.

