The COVID-19 pandemic in the United States had far-reaching consequences in the country that went beyond the spread of the disease itself and efforts to quarantine it, including political, cultural, and social implications.

Illnesses and deaths

A year into the pandemic, a half-million Americans (1 out of every 670 Americans) had died of COVID-19.

Many people were affected by grief and loss. By the time a half-million Americans had died, one-third of Americans participating in a survey said they personally knew someone who had died this way. (The figures may have been lower due to the types of people being surveyed.) One researcher concluded that, on average, nine close relatives survived to grieve each person who died of COVID-19. By February 2021, about 40,000 U.S. children under the age of 18 had lost at least one parent to the disease.

In addition to the loss of life, the disease can also cause long-term illness, the effects of which may be harder to calculate. Some COVID survivors are left with long-term symptoms such as fatigue, confusion, headache, stomachache, shortness of breath, and loss of sense of smell. Prolonged manifestations of the disease are informally called "long COVID" and the sufferers are called "long-haulers."

Lockdowns

To encourage residents to remain in their homes in order to help suppress the spread of COVID-19, most U.S. states (either state-wide or phased in on a county-by-county basis) began to impose "stay-at-home orders" from mid-March 2020 onward. These orders typically restricted any public "gatherings" and mandated the closure of entertainment and recreation venues (including bars, casinos, fitness facilities, theaters), dine-in restaurants (although take-out and delivery service could still be offered), and other "non-essential" retail businesses. Certain types of businesses were allowed to remain open (subject to social distancing guidelines), including food stores (such as grocery stores), pharmacies, financial institutions, critical infrastructure, and mass media. In some states, hotels were also ordered to close."A Guide to State Coronavirus Lockdowns", The Wall Street Journal, March 21, 2020"Illinois, New York, California, Nevada Tighten Restrictions to Fight Coronavirus", The Wall Street Journal, March 20, 2020 Several states also set up police checkpoints at their borders.

These orders encouraged residents to stay home as much as possible unless they were conducting an essential business (such as grocery shopping or medical care for themselves or family members), recreational exercise, or a job that cannot be performed via remote work. The state of New York mandated remote work by non-essential employees of any business.

By April 2, about 90% of the U.S. population was under some sort of restriction. After implementing social distancing and stay-at-home orders, many states were able to sustain an effective transmission rate ("Rt") of less than one. Based on

Reopening

On March 24, Donald Trump expressed a target of lifting restrictions "if it's good" by April 12, the Easter holiday, for "packed churches all over our country". However, a survey of prominent economists by the University of Chicago indicated that abandoning an economic lock-down prematurely would do more economic damage than maintaining it. The New York Times said, "There is, however, a widespread consensus among economists and public health experts that lifting the restrictions would impose huge costs in additional lives lost to the virus—and deliver little lasting benefit to the economy." On March 29, Trump extended the federal physical distancing recommendations until the end of April.

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine said employers must redesign workplaces to keep workers six feet apart or let them conduct remote work. Connecticut required employers who were open to keep workers six feet apart, deliver products to customers at curbside or by delivery when possible, protect workers with barriers such as Plexiglas, prohibit sharing equipment or desks and if possible have employees eat and take breaks alone in their cars or at their workstations. Commutes by mass transit, where it is not possible to stay six feet apart, posed a challenge to repoening, as did colleges, since many lacked large enough classrooms to keep students six feet apart.

In late April 2020, pressure increased on states to remove economic and personal restrictions. On April 19 the Trump administration released a three-phase advisory plan for states to follow, called "Opening Up America Again". Protests calling for an end to restrictions were held in more than a dozen states. Governors in several states took steps to re-open some businesses the last week of April, even though they did not meet the benchmarks set out in the federal guidelines. Trump alternately encouraged and discouraged the reopening actions. After several meat processing plants were temporarily closed due to coronavirus cases among plant workers, President Trump used the Defense Production Act to order that open plants remain open, and that closed plants re-open with healthy workers.

The CDC prepared detailed guidelines for businesses, public transit, restaurants, religious entities, schools, and other public places that may wish to reopen. In early May, the guidelines were edited down; however, the original seven pages were provided to the Associated Press. Six flow charts were ultimately published on May 15, and a 60-page set of guidelines was released without comment on May 20, weeks after many states had already emerged from lockdowns.

On June 8, 2020, The New York Times published the results of its survey in which 511 epidemiologists were asked: "when they expect to resume 20 activities of daily life". Slightly over half of the doctors surveyed responded that they expected to stop "routinely wearing a face covering" in one year or more.

A 69-page document marked "For Internal Use Only" obtained by The New York Times classified the reopening of districts, universities, and individual schools as high risk. The document surfaced after experts warned of the high risk of reopening schools.

Educational impact

, most American public and private schools—at least 124,000—had closed nationwide, affecting at least 55.1 million students. By April 22, school buildings had been ordered or recommended to be closed for the remainder of the academic year in 39 states, three territories, and the District of Columbia. As schools shifted education to online learning, there were concerns about student access to necessary technology, absenteeism, and accommodations for special needs students. School systems also looked to adjust grading scales and graduation requirements to mitigate the disruption caused by the unprecedented closures.

During the 2019-2020 school year the national high school graduation rate decreased by 0.7% after a decade long increase in the graduation rate. However, by the following school year the national high school graduation rate began to increase once again.

To ensure poor students continued to receive lunches while schools were closed, many states and school districts arranged for "grab-and-go" lunch bags or used school bus routes to deliver meals to children. To provide legal authority for such efforts, the U.S. Department of Agriculture waived several school lunch program requirements.

Many higher educational institutions canceled classes and closed dormitories in response to the outbreak, including all members of the Ivy League, and many other public and private universities across the country. Many universities also expanded the use of pass/fail grading for the Spring 2020 semester.

Due to the disruption to the academic year caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Department of Education approved a waiver process, allowing states to opt-out of standardized testing required under the Every Student Succeeds Act. In addition, the College Board eliminated traditional face-to-face Advanced Placement exams in favor of an online exam that could be taken at home. The College Board also cancelled SAT testing in March and May in response to the pandemic. Similarly, April ACT exams were rescheduled for June 2020.

The Department of Education also authorized limited student loan relief, allowing borrowers to suspend payments for at least two months without accruing interest.

In July 2020, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos announced that she intended to have all American schools open for in-person classes for the 2020–2021 school year.

There were broader effects of school closures beyond the immediate crisis. As of the beginning of the 2020-21 school year in New York City, with 1.1 million school children, 84% of white public-school parents said their child would attend school in-person if possible, compared to 63% of Latinx parents and just 34% of Black parents. Families with greater money, mobility, and access increasingly withdrew from public education, forming private-pay pods costing $30,000 per year. Other families placed their children in religious school, which could cost $8,000+ per year.

Many caregivers left the workforce, facing no other options amid the breakdown of public safety nets. Amid the health risks of offering school; the risks of isolation, disconnection, and educational regression of school disruption; this risk of inequitable access was also critical. Parental choices across race and income posed risk of increased segregation, disparate outcomes, growing inequity, and future public disinvestment in a longer-term post-COVID landscape.

One significant outbreak during the Fall 2020 semester occurred at the State University of New York at Oneonta. Residence halls reopened on August 17, and within two months there were over 700 coronavirus cases among the student body, as a result of which the university president resigned.

Due to the lock downs, the development of many children has been stunted as they found education online difficult, and are now having to deal with the effects of this, making learning harder for students and teachers alike as a result of the disruption caused by COVID-19.

Transportation

Public transportation

Several of the largest mass transit operators in the U.S. reduced service in response to lower demand caused by remote work policies and self-quarantines. The loss of fares and sales tax, a common source of operating revenue, is predicted to cause long-term effects on transit expansion and maintenance. The American Public Transportation Association issued a request for $13 billion in emergency funding from the federal government to cover lost revenue and other expenses incurred by the pandemic. In mid-April it was reported that demand for transit service was down by an average of 75 percent nationwide, with figures of 85% in San Francisco and 60% in Philadelphia. Many localities reported an increase in bicycling as residents sought socially distant means of getting around. In 2020, fatalities increased to nearly 38,680 in the US due to fewer people driving on the road.

Air travel A dramatic reduction in the number of passengers was with 96% less being on flights in April 2020 compared to a year earlier in April 2019. In 2020 alone, 41% fewer flights were flown by airlines from the US. Demand for domestic air travel dropped 48.8% in 2020. Planes which were not being used were simply placed in the desert to prevent corrosion of parts. Airline crew members were expected to keep working during the pandemic and during 2020 there was no mask mandate for airline crew members but starting on January 21, 2021 after President Biden took office an Executive Order was issued requiring all passengers and workers aboard or at transport hubs to wear masks. Most people would comply with wearing masks.

Traffic safety In 2020, fatalities increased to nearly 38,680 in the US due to fewer people driving on the road.