Loss of nearly two years of life expectancy – Another rioter sentenced – Evening statistics
The average life expectancy in the U.S. was 78.8 years in 2019. It is now 77.0 years. This difference represents the largest drop in the nation has had since WWII. The deaths from the pandemic are one factor, of course, but the pandemic has contributed indirectly as well; overdose deaths, as previously noted, have skyrocketed over the past year, and deaths from long-standing ailments such as diabetes have risen, in part because overburdened hospitals have been giving them less attention. There were more than 3.38 million deaths in the U.S. last year, about 530,000 more than there were in 2019. Of that 3.38 million, more than 350,000 deaths were attributed to COVID-19. The pandemic thus is responsible for about 10.4% of all deaths in the U.S. in 2020. One wonders what the figures for 2021 will reveal once they are tallied. The cumulative death toll from COVID is already over 830,000, which means that over 480,000 deaths from COVID occurred this past year.
Another mobster – oh, sorry, I meant of course to say “tourist” – has been convicted and sentenced today for his participation in the January 6th riot. Devlyn Thompson, aged 28, has received three years and 10 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for assaulting a police officer with a metal baton during the confrontation between police and the rioters in a tunnel that lasted for more than two hours. His defense attorney pleaded for a lesser sentence on the grounds that Thompson is autistic. This argument was coldly received, it being pointed out that many others are autistic and have nonetheless refrained from committing assault and battery. Thompson, it may be noted, was earning about $90,000 annually: yet another example of one of the many members of a privileged class who masqueraded as a member of the proletariat on that occasion.
Today’s statistics as of 8:00 PM – # of cases worldwide: 278,460,404; # of deaths worldwide: 5,399,906; # of cases U.S.: 52,768,927; # of deaths; U.S.: 834,190.