White House economic adviser Peter Navarro said the coronavirus shutdowns will “indirectly” kill more people than the virus itself.
“If you lock people down, you may save lives directly from the China virus, but you indirectly — you’re going to kill a lot more people,” he told NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday.
Navarro said unemployment leads to more suicides, depression, and substance abuse. He also cited the disruptions the virus has caused to the health industry as many medical procedures and screenings have been put on hold during the pandemic.
“That’s gonna kill people as well. So if you contrast this complete lockdown, where some people in the medical community want to run and hide until the virus is extinguished, that’s gonna not only take a huge toll on the American economy, it’s going to kill many more people than the virus — the China virus ever would,” he said.
President Trump and some of his allies have pushed to reopen the U.S. economy as some public health experts warn that moving too fast could lead to an increase in cases.
Nearly 89,000 people have died in the United States from the virus, and more than 1.4 million have tested positive. The U.S. unemployment rate skyrocketed to 14.7% in April, up from 4.4% in March, after the economy lost 20.5 million jobs last month.
