Landlords in the US who evicted their tenants amid the COVID-19 pandemic are responsible for perhaps more than 10,000 deaths, a new study says.
Most US states put in temporary bans on evictions during the pandemic's first wave, like New Zealand. Many have since expired, while others have been extended.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in September ordered a nationwide halt to evictions, but it has numerous loopholes and reportedly has been ignored by many landlords, with many tenants unaware of the order. It's set to expire at the end of December - right in the middle of the northern hemisphere winter, when infections are expected to spike thanks to the weather and families ignoring guidelines and gathering to celebrate Christmas, as millions did for Thanksgiving.
Researchers wanted to see the effect evictions were having on the US outbreak, the worst in the world to date. They looked at data from 44 states (including the District of Columbia) - 27 of which had ended their eviction bans, and 17 with them ongoing - and compared the trajectory of infections.
"Lifting eviction moratoriums was associated with significant increases in COVID-19 incidence and mortality in US states," the study concluded, after taking into account other factors such as travel bans and mask mandates.
About 10,700 deaths could have been prevented, they said - and perhaps as many as 12,500 - and 433,700 infections, some of whom will likely suffer long-term health consequences.
"I think whenever you see numbers like 430,000 cases, 10,000 deaths, it's surprising and it's troubling, and these are deaths that could have been prevented had the states maintained their moratoriums," lead researcher Kathryn Leifheit of the University of California told NPR.
People evicted often end up moving in with friends and family, she said, exposing more people to infection.
"It's difficult to socially distance and shelter in place if you don't have a shelter."
Texas was a standout, accounting for nearly half of all the deaths linked to evictions. Black and Latinx people were hardest-hit, as they have been throughout the pandemic.
Like much research into COVID-19, the research - published online - is yet to be peer-reviewed. Dr Leifheit said it was important to get the study's findings out there as soon as possible, with the CDC eviction ban expiring on December 31.
"That's four weeks away and it's in the setting of over a million new COVID cases a week. So state and federal policymakers need to extend these protections to make sure that families and their communities can stay safe."
She said it was also important for tenants to know their rights, so they can avoid becoming a statistic.
"It really is a human tragedy and not just numbers."
New Zealand's three-month ban on evictions ended in June, Associate Housing Minister Kris Faafoi saying New Zealand's successful stamping out of the virus and return to alert level 1 meaning it was no longer justified.
New Zealand has recorded 25 confirmed COVID-19 deaths. The US has more than 279,000, with more than 2000 now dying every single day.
