Explained: How wealth influences Covid-19 impact

A new survey has found that liquid assets increased the likelihood that an individual could practice social distancing.

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A homeless man in New York’s Penn Station opens a packet of food given to him. A new study has found 34% of people who lost their job reported food insecurity. (AP Photo: Wong Maye-E)

A new Socioeconomic Impact of Covid-19 survey, carried out across the US, has shown how the impact of the pandemic has not been equal across individuals: wealth matters. Conducted by the Social Policy Institute (SPI) at Washington University in St Louis, the survey interviewed 5,500 respondents from all 50 US states from April 27 to May 12.

It found that liquid assets increased the likelihood that an individual could practice social distancing. “Wealth gives individuals agency to make choices, like social distancing, that keep themselves and their families healthy,” SPI director Michal Grinstein-Weiss said in a statement.

Among the findings of the survey:

* Low- and moderate-income households delayed major housing payments and health care;

* Hispanic/Latinx homeowners were more likely (14.1%) to be evicted than Non-Hispanic White (6.4%) and five times as likely as Non-Hispanic Black (2.6%) homeowners, despite moratoriums on some evictions;

* Hispanic/Latinx (27%) and low-income individuals (29%) were most affected by job loss;

* 34% of people who lost their job reported food insecurity.

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