Washington University School of Medicine: "COVID-19 Deaths in the U.S. to Reach 224,000 by November 1"

Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Min Jun-young, Intern Reporter] As the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) rapidly spreads in the United States, projections indicate that over 87,000 additional deaths from COVID-19 could occur in the U.S. by November.

According to major foreign media on the 15th (local time), the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington School of Medicine released a predictive model estimating that COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. could reach 224,089 by November 1.

This updates the previous projection of 208,254 announced on the 7th, raising the estimated death toll by about 16,000 due to the spread of COVID-19 in many states and an increase in hospitalized patients.

Considering that, as of this date, Johns Hopkins University has reported 3,434,636 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 136,493 deaths in the U.S., this means that approximately 87,500 additional deaths could occur over the next three and a half months.

However, the institute predicted that if nearly all Americans wear masks in public places, the death toll could be reduced by 40,000 compared to this projection.

IHME stated, "Mask usage has increased but is not at a very high level," adding, "If 95% of Americans wear masks when leaving their homes, infection rates and hospitalizations will decrease, leading to a lower expected death toll."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.