[ad_1]
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Donald Trump apparently raised his estimate of possible deaths in the United States from the coronavirus on Friday, saying at a White House event that he expects fewer than 100,000 deaths, an upper limit higher than 60,000. to 70,000 deaths he discussed Monday.
“Hopefully we get below 100,000 lives lost, which is a horrible number,” Trump said.
Projections have varied for how many lives COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the new coronavirus, would claim. Anthony Fauci, a senior infectious disease official, had said in March that Americans should be prepared for 100,000 deaths.
“So yes, we have lost a lot of people. But if you look at the original projections, 2.2 million, we will probably go to 60,000, 70,000,” Trump said at a news conference on Monday.
On Wednesday, the number of deaths exceeded 60,000, dwarfing the number of Americans killed in the Vietnam War. By Friday afternoon, at least 63,260 people had died, according to a Reuters count of state and local government reports.
(Report by Steve Holland and Lisa Lambert; Sandra Maler and Grant McCool edition)
[ad_2]
