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But if the deaths from suicide, drug overdose, delayed medical care, ulcers and other stress related sicknesses, and abuse are enough, they will offset those nu

But if the deaths from suicide, drug overdose, delayed medical care, ulcers and other stress related sicknesses, and abuse are enough, they will offset those numbers. If the drop into poverty as people lose jobs create slums, gangs, and muggings, there will be a lot more deaths, and those will also offset the numbers. So, even quality of life aside, I am not sure we come out ahead even on saving lives. I would like data though, since anyone can speculate. Can someone point to real data?

creaghpatr 6y ago
>But if the deaths from suicide, drug overdose, delayed medical care, ulcers and other stress related sicknesses, and abuse are enough, they will offset those numbers Not if they get counted as a COVID death. You better believe that drug overdose death is getting a test if there's federal reimbursement in play.
jddj 6y ago
It's a common speculation, but employment (and recreation, regular life, going outdoors) actually kills a lot of people. Every % rise of unemployment in Europe during the financial crisis resulted in a 3.5% drop in all cause mortality, and that includes a ~35% increase in suicides. We can probably extrapolate that for a scenario where business as usual also kills a good amount more people due to a pandemic. Clearly the US, being the US, could be different due to cultural differences in how the poor and underemployed are treated. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0091743514001224 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S009174351...