Empty Hospitals across America - May 2

[dan_s]

Note from an industry friend in Oklahoma:
"Our hometown of Tulsa has 5 major hospitals for a region that serves about 1 million people: St John, St Francis, Hillcrest, OSU, St. Francis South. One big one, St John, has 700 beds, of which 300 have patients. 10 of those are COVID patients. The other hospitals are similarly empty. In this case, no activity is a good thing, and the numbers are likely an early sign that the quarantine will soon begin to end."

Unemployment leads to "Hopelessness".
Hopelessness is the leading cause of suicide.
Sky-rocketing gun sales leads to more access to the leading tool used for suicide.
Read: https://www.statnews.com/2020/04/22/sui ... onnection/

"Since February 2020, as U.S. public health efforts have focused on containing the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), gun sales in the country have skyrocketed. In March, more than 2.5 million firearms were sold, including 1.5 million handguns (1). In the best of times, increased gun ownership is associated with a heightened risk for firearm-related suicide (2). These are not the best of times. The United States faces an unprecedented combination of a public health and economic disaster. The physical distancing necessary to curb transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 has disrupted social networks. Many people live in isolation, and the mental health of the population will likely suffer. Combined, these forces create a climate with the potential to increase firearm-related suicides."
Read: https://annals.org/aim/fullarticle/2765 ... ic-suicide

MY FEAR: Suicides, Armed Robbery and Domestic Violence will destroy more families than COVID-19. We will find out in a few months.