Researchers Fear 300,000 Corona Deaths in the US in December

The prominent research institute IHME, affiliated with the University of Washington in Seattle, predicts that the total number of American corona deaths on December 1 will be approximately 300,000.

That is about 140,000 more than the current number. If 95 percent of people in public were always wearing a mask, the number of victims could be significantly lower on December 1, according to the researchers, at around 228,000.

The model they use shows that at the beginning of December, 295,000 Americans died of the corona. Before the recent surge in new infections in the US, the model had expected about 230,000 deaths on November 1.

“We are on a rollercoaster ride in the United States,” said Christopher Murray, director of the research institute.

As soon as infections increase dramatically in an area, people start to wear masks and take necessary precautions. But if the situation improves, Murray says that caution will disappear. “This, of course, leads to more infections. And the potentially fatal cycle starts all over again.”

So far, nearly 160,000 people in the United States have died of the lung virus, data from Johns Hopkins University show. There are now almost five million confirmed corona infections.

The number of new infections in the US has increased significantly since mid-June. On average, authorities reported about 60,000 new infections per day, mainly in the states in the south and west of the country.