The financial repercussion brought by COVID-19 will continue to be felt by the United States until 2029, according to estimates published by the Congressional Budget Office. The economic damage is at nearly $16 trillion and it will take the country the next decades to emerge from the downfall.
According to its estimates, the US total GDP output from 2020 to 2023 could already be at $15.7 trillion which was lower than what CBO has projected in January. The amount equals to 5.3% of lost GDP over the next ten years.
The US now has 42 million unemployed people due to the pandemic. Computing with adjusted inflation, CBO estimates the lost output could reach $7.9 trillion, a loss of 3% of inflated-adjusted GDP.
CBO said the decline seen in the first three months of 2020 will continue up until June. That will be from 5% to 38% fall and could be the biggest decline on record.
In a separate report, CBO noted spending amounting to $3.4 trillion for the COVID-19 rescue bill. This bill has passed the House in mid-May.
The economic downturn and more spending are expected to continue in the coming months as the US registers high cases of COVID-19. As of Wednesday night, the US has 1,851,520 confirmed cases and 107,175 deaths. The country continues to hold the highest spot when it comes to the number of infections and fatalities occurring due to the pandemic.
The virus continues to spread in other parts of the country. Most recently the south and the west are reporting a spike in cases. In the last few weeks, inland states Arkansas, Texas, and Arizona are seeing an uptick in the number of confirmed cases. Previously, the cases were only rampant in New York, Jersey, Boston, and California.
A big factor in the increase in transmission rate among different states is the nationwide protest in support of George Floyd's death. Health officials are actually a concern that demonstrations could bring in the second wave of the outbreak in places where the virus has already been contained, supposedly.
The virus could spread at protests if people neglect to wear their mask, if they stand so close to each other, and if they are exposed for hours with carriers.
New York, meanwhile, remained focus in its battle against the virus despite the chaos in the country.
All New Yorkers can now be tested for COVID-19. Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Tuesday that there are 150 testing sites across the city.
The city's reported cases per day have decreased to 600 this month compared to 6,000 per day in April. The local government hopes that through the free testing city-wide, the city can consistently contain the virus or at best, to stop it entirely. The mayor's office also said that they hire 1,700 contact tracers.
