Abstract

As of mid-October 2020, the number of COVID-19 cases worldwide has approached 38 million cases. In the United States (U.S.) alone, as of mid-October 2020, there have been over 7.8 million COVID-19 cases and over 215,000 deaths1. The negative economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic have been considerable. The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) informs that U.S. real gross domestic product (GDP) decreased five percent in the first quarter of 2020 (BEA 2020) [1]. GDP decreased even further at an annual rate of 31.7 percent in the second quarter of 2020, based on the second estimate given by the BEA. Numerous news outlets reported that the 31.7 percent decline represents the worst quarterly contraction in the U.S. economy ever recorded.