Dr Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, explained the risks during a live Instagram session with actor Matthew McConaughey.
“If everyone has the contract, even with the relatively high percentage of people without symptoms … a lot of people will die,” Fauci said.
“You look at the United States of America with our epidemic of obesity as it was. With the number of people with hypertension. With the number of people with diabetes. If everyone were infected, the death toll would be enormous and completely unacceptable,” he said. .
It is not yet clear whether Covid-19 survivors have immunity, although some have even suggested that allowing Covid-19 to plow through populations could help to achieve herd immunity as quickly as possible. – but it would be a disaster for hospitals. Doctors would be overwhelmed and more people would die, not only from coronavirus but also from other infections.
Tens of thousands more dead projected
Over the next three weeks, that number will go up by a total of nearly 189,000 projected, according to an ensemble forecast published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The new projections released Thursday predicted 188,982 deaths through Sept. 5 – with a possible range of 181,375 to 201,431 deaths.
“State- and ground-level ensemble forecasts predict that the number of reported new deaths per week could increase over the next four weeks in Colorado and in Arizona, the Northern Mariana Islands, Vermont and Wyoming could decrease,” the CDC said.
The prediction depends on about two dozen individual forecasts from outside institutions and researchers.
Unlike some individual models, the ensemble forecast of the CDC offers projections only about a month in advance. A previous ensemble forecast, published on July 23, projected roughly 164,477 coronavirus deaths around Saturday.
“You can’t go away from the numbers,” Fauci said. “You can’t run away from the number of people who have died, the number of people who are hospitalized, the stream we see.”
The US has averaged more than 1,000 reported daily deaths for 18 consecutive days.
Georgia records the highest death toll since pandemic began
Georgia was one of the first states to reopen after being one of the last to close. This week it recorded its highest death toll since the pandemic began.
The state reported 136 deaths Tuesday – the most in one day – and an additional 109 deaths Wednesday, according to health officials. The health department reported 2,674 new cases of Covid-19 on Thursday. The virus has killed a total of 4,538 people in the state.
And in North Carolina, the Department of Health said “a mistake” has reduced the overall official count of cumulative coronavirus tests since the pandemic began. That number has dropped from 2,044,727 to 1,823,283, said Dr. Mandy Cohen, the state’s official health official.
The error was due to a discrepancy between electronic and manual reporting of test data submitted by the company LabCorp. The error affected the overall number of tests previously reported, but it did not change the total confirmed positive cases, the total deaths as the percentage positive calculation, the health department said.
In a sign, the virus may have been around for a while, Kansas City, Missouri, expanding its coronavirus state of emergency early next year. Emergency orders will be in effect until at least January 16, 2021.
“It’s now obvious to everyone that Covid-19 will not go away for the next five months,” said Dr. Rex Archer, director of the city’s health department.
Chamber partying is the same as going to a bar, officials say
As the long holiday weekend draws to a close, officials are warning against social events.
Adm. Brett Giroir, a member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, stressed the need for coronavirus mitigation measures during Labor Day. He urged people to avoid publicity – especially in indoor spaces.
“We talk about bars, but if you have a house party with a hundred people in your living room, that’s the same equivalent,” he said. He described a crowd of people inside, drinking, talking and no masks carrying a formula for disaster.
“What you really need to do – whether you’re in a hot area or not – please wear a mask,” Giroir said.
Good hand hygiene is also essential, he said.
CNN’s Steve Almasy, Dakin Andone, Andy Rose, Joe Sutton and Janine Mack contributed to this report.
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