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Bulletin
And where are we today?
By David Leonhardt
Four years ago today, the company began to close.
Shortly after noon (Eastern time) on March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared Covid – or “the coronavirus,” then the ultimate term – a global pandemic. Shares fell after midday. In the span of an hour that night, President Donald Trump delivered an Oval Office speech about Covid, Tom Hanks posted on Instagram that he had the virus, and the NBA announced that it had canceled the rest of its season.
It was Wednesday and thousands of schools were going to close until the end of the week. Workplaces were also closed. People washed their hands and touched their elbows instead of shaking hands (though the CDC continued to discourage widespread mask-wearing for several more weeks).
The worst pandemic in a century had begun.
Today, on the occasion of the unofficial fourth anniversary, I will provide you with an update on the current situation.
The Covid death toll shown (over seven million people worldwide) is terrible in itself, and the actual number is worse. The Economist magazine maintains a current estimate of excess mortality, explained as the number of deaths higher than expected according to previous data. -Covid trends. The global total is approaching 30 million.
This figure includes confirmed Covid deaths and undiagnosed deaths, which are not unusual in poorer countries. This includes deaths caused by pandemic-related disruptions, such as missed medical appointments that may have prevented other illnesses. The isolation of the pandemic has also led to an increase in social unrest in the United States, adding to an increase in deaths from alcohol, drugs, car accidents, and murders.
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