U.S. coronavirus deaths are now forecast to exceed 200,000 by October – a number nearing the original estimate put out by the White House.
Newsweek noted the model from the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) now indicates there will be between 117,551 to 269,395 COVID-19 deaths by October.
In April, Dr. Deborah Birx and Dr. Anthony Fauci from the White House Coronavirus Task Force said models showed the U.S. could expect between 100,000 and 240,000 deaths.
But Fauci had said that “we shouldn’t give up and accept (the projection).”
“It’s within our power to modify those numbers,” he said.
And days later, Fauci said new models suggested the U.S. death toll may total 60,000 – well below the original projections.
At the time, Fauci had attributed the drop to social distancing and stay-at-home orders.
But Newsweek reported that as states began lifting lockdown restrictions, models forecasting COVID-19 deaths were moving projections upward. In late April, IHME projected 60,308 deaths by Aug. 4. It is now predicting 149,690 deaths by this date.
Jeffrey Rodack ✉
Jeffrey Rodack, who has nearly a half century in news as a senior editor and city editor for national and local publications, has covered politics for Newsmax for nearly seven years.
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