On April 10, COVID-19 infection numbers in the US reached 427,460, with 14,696 deaths and 16.8 million unemployment claims, filed between March 15 and April 14. The pandemic has touched every part of the country, from astronomical figures of infection and deaths in New York to increasing spread throughout the rural countries.
In every area, there are continuing accounts detailing the lack of essential supplies and personnel to help those who are sick. The two trillion-dollar stimulus package has had scant impact on the ground, while other welfare packages are held up on the Senate floor. Racial minorities, especially African Americans, are adversely affected in disproportionate numbers. The political rhetoric in the US ranges from somber assessment and advice about continuing to “flatten the curve” to strident assertions of success.
As the virus moves through the United States, it has continued to reveal pre-existing social and economic divisions, and show the active political decisions being taken to further undermine the countries’ democratic processes and impose further restrictive (and exploitative) labor and human rights violations. The account of the pandemic could equally be labelled an account of the current politics, economies, and unequal social structures in the US.
