COVID-19 deaths could decline in “a couple of weeks” says Brett Giroir, the federal official overseeing coronavirus testing efforts.
"What you're seeing right now is that the positivity rate is down, the numbers of cases are starting to go down, the hospitalizations are going down," Giroir told “The Daily Briefing” host Dana Perino.
"But the unfortunate, sad fact, is the mortality, the deaths, will lag a couple of weeks," he added. "So, I'm not making any promises here, but if everything follows, we should start seeing the numbers of deaths go down in a couple of weeks.”
The U.S. is seeing a resurgence of COVID-19 infections after states began reopening their economies. The case count now stands at more than 4.4 million and the death toll at 152,075, according to data provided by Johns Hopkins University.
Giroir’s comments come as a key coronavirus model increased the United States’ death projection to over 230,000 by early November.
Giroir on Friday also stressed following strict guidelines to stem the spread of the virus.
"If we do the things we know so well now that work—we have evidence on top of evidence that simple mask wearing, if everybody does it, can completely reverse this—then we're not going to see [any new increases],” he said. “But if we don't do that, until we get a vaccine, 90 percent of the population is still at risk to get this virus and that could be catastrophic if we don't do those kinds of actions we're asking."
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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