University of Washington forecasts 170,000 U.S. COVID-19 deaths by October

Record ID: 1556830

  • Title: University of Washington forecasts 170,000 U.S. COVID-19 deaths by October
  • Date: 11th June 2020
  • Summary: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (FILE - APRIL 9, 2020) (REUTERS) (MUTE) VARIOUS OF DRONE FOOTAGE OF BODIES IN CASKETS BEING BURIED ON HART ISLAND IN THE BRONX
  • Embargoed: 25th June 2020 22:05
  • Keywords: COVID019 Christopher Murray Coronoavirus October 1 University of Washington predictions second wave
  • Location: SEE SCRIPT BODY FOR LOCATIONS
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  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Health/Medicine
  • Reuters ID: LVA003CHXGCHZ
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: University of Washington researchers estimated on Thursday (June 11) that 170,000 people could die of COVID-19 in the United States by October, while total U.S. coronavirus cases surpassed 2 million as governments relax restrictions.
    "We are now forecasting through to October 1st, just shy of 170,000 deaths but with a very large range, 133,000 to 290,000 deaths. And part of that range is just quite making sense of what's happening in some of the states, such as Arizona, where we see an upsurge in hospitalizations in cases and deaths," explained Dr. Christopher Murray, the director of the university's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME).
    "We start to see a powerful increase (of the death rate) that will be driven by seasonality starting in early September," he added.
    Several U.S. states have seen coronavirus cases jump in recent days, causing great concern among experts who say authorities are loosening restrictions too early.
    New Mexico, Utah and Arizona each saw its number of cases rise by 40% for the week ended Sunday, according to a Reuters analysis. Florida and Arkansas are other hot spots.
    Nationally, new infections are rising slightly after five weeks of declines, according to a Reuters analysis that showed total cases at 2,003,038.
    Total U.S. coronavirus-related deaths totaled 112,754 on Wednesday, the highest tally in the world.
    (Production: Omar Younis)
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