Waarom de VS extra gevoelig is voor het corona virus (en Trump vermoedelijk z'n rallies niet meer kan houden):
The U.S. is one of the two developed nations without guaranteed paid sick leave. More than 1 in 4 private industry workers don’t have this benefit including more than half in the bottom 25% of the wage distribution, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
“These are the people who are really living paycheck to paycheck,” said Amy Traub, an associate director of policy and research at Demos, a left-leaning think tank. “So, they have a tremendous economic need to go into work, even if they have symptoms of the flu or the coronavirus.”
Making matters worse, many workers who don’t have access to paid sick leave work in child care, restaurants, hotels, and travel where they come into contact with many people everyday and could help spread the virus. In these service occupations, more than 2 in 5 of the workers don’t get paid sick days, according to the Labor Department.
Another challenge to preventing an outbreak is the structure of the U.S. health insurance system. About 7%, or 27.5 million U.S. adults, lacked medical insurance in 2018, according to the Census Bureau, making it a costly proposition to visit a doctor, urgent care, or ER.
Recent reports suggest that the bill to get tested for coronavirus could cost more than $3,000, a huge cash outlay for many. Two in 5 Americans couldn’t cover a $400 emergency without borrowing money or selling items for cash, according to the Federal Reserve.