EDITORIAL| VOLUME 5, ISSUE 5, E235, MAY 01, 2020
Published:May, 2020DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/S2468-2667(20)30097-9

As of April 21, the coronavirus outbreak has infected more than 2·3 million people and taken 162 956 lives—35 884 in the USA, 24 114 in Italy, 20 852 in Spain, 20 233 in France, 16 509 in the UK, 5209 in Iran, 4642 in China—all underestimates most probably. Beyond these numbers are people, families, communities, societies that have been affected in unprecedented ways. The coronavirus pandemic puts societies to the test: it is a test of political leadership, of national health systems, of social care services, of solidarity, of the social contract—a test of our very own fabric. In the face of this enormous challenge we risk deepening already stark health and social inequalities.

In this issue of The Lancet Public Health, a series of research Articles, Comments, and letters tackle some of the most pressing issues in the response to the coronavirus outbreak. The disease and its societal consequences pose enhanced risks to already vulnerable groups, such as the elderly and people living with disability, as Richard Armitage and Laura Nellums point out in their letters, the detained, as noted by Allen Keller and Benjamin Wagner, migrants and refugees, homeless people and children living in temporary accommodation, as Diana Rosenthal and colleagues note in their piece. Risk of infection and mortality is higher for individuals with underlying health conditions and comorbidities and might be so for socioeconomically disadvantaged people and ethnic and racial minority groups. For Faheem Ahmed and colleagues, inequality has aided the spread of COVID-19. In the USA, for example, African Americans are disproportionately affected by the outbreak. The response to COVID-19 cannot be a success without an equity lens to mitigate these health inequalities. 
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