Washington University School of Medicine: "US COVID-19 Deaths Likely to Double by Year-End"

"By January 1 Next Year, Cumulative Deaths Could Reach 410,000"
Wearing Masks Could Reduce Deaths by 120,000

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington in the United States has projected that the cumulative death toll from COVID-19 in the U.S. could more than double to 410,000 by the end of this year. Since last month, basic guidelines such as mask-wearing and social distancing have not been well followed in the U.S., and with winter approaching, seasonal factors including the overlap with the flu could cause a sharp increase in deaths. They added that proper mask usage alone could reduce the death toll by more than 120,000.

According to foreign media including CNN on the 6th (local time), IHME warned that if the current trend continues, the cumulative COVID-19 death toll in the U.S. could surge to 410,000 by January 1 next year, more than double the current figure, and daily deaths could rise to the 3,000 range starting from the end of this year. IHME stated, "Since last month, public vigilance against COVID-19 has significantly decreased, especially mask-wearing, which has been on a declining trend since early last month," adding, "The current daily death toll of about 850 could increase more than threefold."

According to the global statistics site Worldometer's COVID-19 tally, the cumulative death toll in the U.S. stands at 192,818 as of this day. If IHME's projection holds true, nearly 220,000 more deaths could occur in the U.S. over the next little more than three months. IHME emphasized, "Although the daily confirmed cases in the U.S. have decreased from a peak of 70,000 at the end of July to the 40,000 range currently, COVID-19 remains the second leading cause of death in the U.S. It has a lower mortality rate than heart disease but is higher than cancer."

IHME further urged adherence to mask-wearing and social distancing guidelines to reduce the death rate. "The special opportunity to save lives is to increase mask usage," they stressed, adding, "If mask usage reaches the level of Singapore, the cumulative death toll could be reduced by 122,000 compared to the current scenario."

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