WASHINGTON: A new forecast projects 201,129 deaths due to COVID-19 in the United States through the beginning of October mainly due to reopening measures underway, the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington said on Monday.
The IHME raised its estimate by 18% from 169,890 and said Florida would be among the hardest-hit states, with an estimated 18,675 deaths, up 186% from a previous estimate of 6,559 on June 10.
The institute raised its estimate for deaths in California by 72% to 15,155 from 8,812 and increased its outlook for Arizona by 56% to 7,415 fatalities from 4,762.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump has said other countries had provided great reports on the effectiveness of malaria drug hydroxychloroquine for treatment of the deadly coronavirus, complaining that only US agencies have failed to grasp its benefit.
His remarks, delivered to reporters at the White House, came hours after the US Food and Drug Administration revoked its emergency use authorisation for hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19, despite Trump’s frequent praise of the drug’s usefulness for staving off the disease.
Global cases of the novel coronavirus reached over 8 million on Monday, as infections surge in Latin America, according to a Reuters tally.
About 25% of those cases, or 2 million infections, are in the United States, though the fastest-growing outbreak is in Latin America which now accounts for 21% of all cases.
Brazil’s COVID-19 cases and deaths have surged to make it the No.2 hot spot in the world, behind only the United States
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