Coronavirus is revealing ugly truths about social structure in the US

The coronavirus pandemic is affecting every possible aspect of life-and thus confronting Americans with ugly truths about the way US society functions.

Any crisis or emergency throws into sharp relief the lack of a social safety net in the US. This virus outbreak, the most widespread in decades, is exposing the country's social vulnerabilities all at the same time. Some of them will be addressed in a comprehensive relief package that Congress and the White House agreed upon on March 13. It includes "paid emergency leave with two weeks of paid sick leave and up to three months of paid family and medical leave," according to House speaker Nancy Pelosi, as well as free coronavirus testing for those who don't have health insurance and increased food aid and Medicaid funding.

But this solution only underscores the fact that Americans lack some basic protections on a day-to-day basis. For one thing, the paid sick leave provision in the coronavirus bill does not apply to companies with 500 or more employees, as The New York Times notes. Such large companies employ more than half of US workers.