US Coronavirus Death Projection Lowered From 82,000 to 60,000 but Official Warns of 'Second Wave' if Social Distancing Violated
The estimated death toll from COVID-19 in the United States of America has been lowered by 26 percent to 60,000. The previously projected death toll was 82,000 over the next four months. The downward revision has brought forward the peak day of deaths to Sunday, April 12, forecasters at the University of Washington analysed.
New York, April 9: The estimated death toll from COVID-19 in the United States of America has been lowered by 26 percent to 60,000. The previously projected death projection was 82,000 over the next four months. The downward revision has brought forward the peak day of deaths to Sunday, April 12, forecasters at the University of Washington analysed. The data coincides with comments of some political leaders that coronavirus cases may have reached a plateau in some cities. Coronavirus Live Tracker Map: Check Real Time Updates on Number of COVID-19 Cases, Deaths And Recoveries.
Till now, more than four lakh COVID-29 positive cases have been reported in the US. The numbers include 13,007 deaths and 22,717 recovered cases, according to Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus tracker. New York Hits New Coronavirus Peak With 779 Deaths But Curve Flattening, Says Governor Andrew Cuomo.
As per the University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, the COVID-19 deaths could be little over 60,000 by the start of August month. The US officials had earlier estimated that between 1,00,000 to 2,40,000 fatalities due to the infection.
New York, the epicentre of Coronavirus in America, has reported 6,268 deaths due to the virus. NY Mayor Bill De Blasio in a briefing on Wednesday said that the hospitalization due to nCoV-19 had stabilised in the city. Governor Andrew Cuomo also noted that the "Curve is Flattening".
White House coronavirus task force, however, warned that if social distancing rules are violated then the US "could see a second wave" of the deadly infection. "If people start going out again and socially interacting, we could see a really acute second wave," a senior health official said.
The Coronavirus lockdown has forced 94 percent of the Americans to stay at home and nearly 10 million people losing their work in the last two weeks. The economic downturn triggered by pandemic forced over 3.3 million people to register for unemployment benefits last week.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 09, 2020 12:11 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).