16.8M Americans apply for unemployment as economic toll rises
NEW YORK (AP) — The coronavirus outbreak has thrown at least 16.8 million Americans onto the unemployment rolls in just three weeks, underscoring the terrifying speed with which the crisis has brought world economies to a near standstill.
Meanwhile, world leaders and health officials are fervently warning that hard-won gains in the fight against the scourge must not be jeopardized by relaxing social distancing during the Easter holiday.
A spike in deaths in Britain and New York and surges of reported new infections in Japan and in India’s congested cities make it clear the battle is far from over.
Numbers released by the U.S. government on Thursday showed that 6.6 million workers applied for unemployment benefits last week, on top of more than 10 million in the two weeks before that. That means more than 1 in 10 American workers have been forced out of a job since the crisis took hold.
The real numbers could be even higher because the surge of jobless claims has overwhelmed state unemployment offices around the country, and some people have been unable to get through by telephone or website. And still more job cuts are expected.
The U.S. unemployment rate could hit 15% — a number last seen at the tail end of the Depression — when the figures for April come out.
The aid organization Oxfam International warned of a looming spike in global poverty, estimating that around half a billion people worldwide could be pushed into poverty if wealthier nations do not take urgent action.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top American infectious-diseases expert, said the epidemic will demand permanent changes in people’s behavior until a vaccine is developed. He said people should be constantly washing their hands and those who are sick should not go to school or work.
“Don’t anybody ever shake hands again,” he said. “I mean, it sounds crazy, but that’s the way it’s really got to be until we get to a point where we know the population is protected.”
He also shot down hopes that warmer spring weather would bring an end to the crisis.
“One should not assume that we are going to be rescued by a change in the weather,” he said. “You must assume that the virus will continue to do its thing.”
The U.S. has by far the most confirmed infections with over 430,000, three times the number of the next three countries combined. New York state on Wednesday recorded its highest one-day increase in deaths, 779, for an overall death toll of almost 6,300. New York has more than 40% of the U.S. death total of around 15,000.