Abstract With more than three billion people in isolation, the status of digital spaces is switching from an amenity to a necessity, as they become not only the main way to access information and services, but also one of the only remaining vectors for economic, educational, and leisure activities as well as for social interactions to take place. However, not all are equals in terms of access to networks or connected devices, or when it comes to the skills required to navigate computerized spaces optimally. Digital inequalities were already existing, yet the COVID-19 crisis is exacerbating them dramatically. On the one hand, the crisis will worsen digital inequalities within the population. On the other hand, digital inequalities represent a major risk factor of vulnerability for exposure to the virus itself, and for the non-sanitary consequences of the crisis. Therefore, this paper aims at exploring the reciprocal impacts of the COVID-19 crisis and digital inequalities, and to propose operative solutions to help fight the nefarious consequences of the crisis. We first describe how digital inequalities are a determinant of health. We then investigate how COVID-19 can potentiate digital inequalities, and how digital inequalities potentiate vulnerability to COVID-19. Finally, in order to contribute to the mitigation of this crisis, we propose a set of multi-layered strategies focusing on actionability that can be implemented at multiple structural levels, ranging from governmental to corporate and community levels.

中文翻译：

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COVID-19 和数字不平等：相互影响和缓解策略

摘要：随着超过 30 亿人处于孤立状态，数字空间的地位正在从一种便利性转变为一种必需品，因为它们不仅成为获取信息和服务的主要方式，而且成为经济、教育仅存的载体之一。 、休闲活动以及进行社交互动。然而，在访问网络或连接设备方面，或者在最佳地导航计算机化空间所需的技能方面，并非所有人都是平等的。数字不平等已经存在，但新冠肺炎 (COVID-19) 危机正在急剧加剧这种不平等。一方面，这场危机将加剧人口内部的数字不平等。另一方面，数字不平等是暴露于病毒本身以及危机造成的非卫生后果的一个主要风险因素。因此，本文旨在探讨 COVID-19 危机和数字不平等的相互影响，并提出可行的解决方案，以帮助应对危机的邪恶后果。我们首先描述数字不平等如何成为健康的决定因素。然后，我们研究了 COVID-19 如何加剧数字不平等，以及数字不平等如何加剧对 COVID-19 的脆弱性。最后，为了帮助缓解这场危机，我们提出了一套注重可操作性的多层次战略，可以在从政府到企业和社区等多个结构层面实施。