The initial toll of the Covid-19 outbreak in the U.S. is skewed: The pandemic is hurting black Americans more in almost every way. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, whose failure to adopt, devise or sufficiently produce working tests likely allowed the virus to spread unchecked, found black people constitute 33% of coronavirus hospitalizations, twice their share of the population. In New York State, African Americans make up 18% of Covid-19 deaths, double their share of the state's population. In Illinois, mortality rates are five times higher than for whites. The alarming statistics have left governors and mayors scrambling to protect marginalized communities.
But the risks aren't just health related. A McKinsey report from this week noted the black community will also likely take a disproportionate economic hit. Black workers tend to live in counties and hold jobs that will see more firings, furloughs, or pay-cuts. Even the Federal Reserve's lifeline loans for local governments are racially unequal; population limits for the program have left out some of the cities and counties with the biggest share of black residents. —Philip Gray Did you see this? Men in England and Wales are dying from Covid-19 at twice the rate of women. Abortion clinics in Texas have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to ease the latest restrictions imposed by Republican state officials. A near-ban was advertised as a way to conserve medical supplies for pandemic response, but women's rights advocates and medical experts see it as a pretext for political goals. Clinics point out that pill-induced abortions could resume without any gloves or masks. While millions of Americans struggle to stay healthy and fed during the pandemic, the rich are getting richer. Some are even profiting from the scourge. Waiting for a stimulus check? The U.S. government has a system to check on its status, though your paper check will be delayed because President Donald Trump wants to make sure his name is on it. Post-pandemic transportation will be different: People who can afford to do so will drive solo instead of cramming into shared public transit. Did you see this?Jobless claims in the U.S. keep flooding in because of quarantine precautions, an unprecedented surge that is straining states' unemployment benefit systems.  When the seller pays the buyerHere's a small, strange silver lining to the global catastrophe: Electricity use has fallen so much that supply is exceeding demand, and utilities are paying customers to use more power. Germany and the Nordic countries often have excess capacity, in part because they derive so much electricity from renewable sources. These nations can shut down power plants to reduce supply, but wind keeps blowing and the sun keeps shining. At certain moments of imbalance, one British utility pays consumers to charge electric vehicles or use smart appliances. | 
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