Washington (AFP) – The latest model projects that the number of COVID-19 deaths in the US will increase further, even as a research team suggests that near-universal use of masks could save 40,000 lives between now and November. .
The death toll was 136,000 on Wednesday, but the country should reach 151,000 by August 1 and 157,000 by August 8, according to an average of models from 23 research groups in the United States and elsewhere.
The figures were released by the Reich Amherst Laboratory at the University of Massachusetts on Tuesday on behalf of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
A week ago, this average predicted 147,000 deaths on August 1.
California, Florida and Texas, the three most populous states in the country, will see a thousand more deaths in the next four weeks compared to the previous four, said Professor Nicholas Reich.
The University of Washington’s IHME model goes further and predicted 224,000 deaths on Nov. 1 on Wednesday.
Another, by independent modeler Youyang Gu, in New York, predicts 227,000 deaths by November 1.
According to the IHME group, more Americans wear masks and fewer leave their homes.
The model has access to GPS data through business partners.
“If 95 percent of Americans wore masks when leaving their homes, that number (of deaths) would drop by more than 40,000,” the research center said.
