Tim McBride, Bernard Becker Professor in the Brown School
Since February the state of Missouri has confronted the monumental health challenges of a pandemic, the COVID-19 virus. But it is now clear that the nation and the state face a triple threat, — a challenge not only to our health but an economic threat as well as a social threat.
As of May 16, Missouri had recorded almost a cumulative 11,000 COVD-19 positive cases and about 600 deaths. Although this has been a significant challenge for the state, to date Missouri ranks below the national average in cases per capita (1.7 per 1000 population in Missouri, compared to the national average of 4.5/1000) and deaths from COVID-19 (96 per million population in Missouri, compared to 270 per million in the U.S.).
Comparatively, the dimensions of the economic challenges facing Missouri and the nation are only beginning to be understood but are immense.
Read the full piece in The Missouri Times.
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