ROME, Italy — Callista Gingrich, the former U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican, underscored Saturday the horrifying collateral damage caused by drastic measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
While world powers have understandably focused on battling the disease, far less attention has been paid to the harmful side effects from lockdowns, mask-wearing, the shuttering of businesses, and forced isolation, Gingrich argued in her January 15 essay.
The “myriad of long-term consequences” resulting from these measures include an “unprecedented surge in mental illness,” she noted, citing therapists who speak of a massive spike in demand for therapy.
“Although many ailments predate the pandemic, the forced isolation, constant fear, and daily instability have made our nation’s mental health crisis worse – particularly among young girls,” Gingrich asserted, including a 51 percent jump in emergency room visits for suspected suicide attempts among adolescent girls in 2020.
Restrictions on movement and in-person work have also led to a significant increase in the number of married couples seeking counseling, a rise in domestic violence, and “amplified addiction and substance abuse,” she observed.
Primarily due to the widespread prevalence of fentanyl, “deaths have tragically skyrocketed, breaking records during the course of the pandemic,” she added.
As another grim record, deaths from drug overdoses surpassed 100,000 in a 12-month period for the very first time, “while fentanyl overdoses have been identified as the leading cause of death for Americans ages 18-45,” Gingrich wrote.
“It is not enough to defeat the pandemic, we must also heal the damage it has done to our friends, families, and communities,” she concluded.
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