U.S has 15,000 coronavirus deaths, may soon surpass Italy with most in the world
More than 15,000 people have now died in the United States from the coronavirus, according to Johns Hopkins University.
The new figures, showing 15,774 deaths in the U.S., come just three days after the U.S. total hit 10,000, and the numbers continue to surge.
The U.S. is nearing the number of fatalities in Italy, which has 17,669 — the most in the world, Johns Hopkins data shows. The U.S. surpassed Spain, which has 15,238 deaths, on Thursday.
Fatalities in Italy seem to be slowing down, according to Reuters. The country had 542 deaths Wednesday after recording 604 Tuesday, the outlet reported.
Italy’s Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said earlier this week their results show the country is “on the right path.”
Research from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation estimates 20,300 people will die in Italy from coronavirus, while it projects about 19,000 will die in Spain.
The U.S., meanwhile, was once predicted to have 100,000 to 240,000 deaths, according to White House estimates. The IMHE model is now projecting 60,415 deaths in the country. The model, which assumes social distancing through May, projects the U.S. to reach its peak in daily fatalities on April 12, with 2,212 people expected to die from COVID-19 that day.
The updated numbers are due to changes in Americans’ behavior, said Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus response coordinator.
“What has been so remarkable, I think, to those of us that have been in the science field for so long is how important behavioral change is, and how amazing Americans are at adapting to and following through on these behavioral changes,” Birx said Wednesday.
While President Donald Trump and Surgeon General Jerome Adams have cautioned this week the country will go through hard times amid the pandemic, Trump said “we are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel,” commenting on Europe’s improvements.
Of the United States 15,000-plus deaths, more than 4,500 have occurred in New York City, Johns Hopkins data shows. Only four countries have more deaths than New York City.
But the White House’s infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, said on ABC Thursday that New York may be reaching its peak.
“You never want to, you know, claim victory prematurely,” Fauci said. “But when you see those kinds of trends, you hope that we’ll see that curve go down and then can start to think about gradually getting back to some sort of steps towards normality.”
This story was originally published April 9, 2020 at 1:45 PM with the headline "U.S has 15,000 coronavirus deaths, may soon surpass Italy with most in the world."