Published 11:33 IST, May 5th 2020
Draft report predicts 3,000 daily deaths in US due to coronavirus by June
A draft government report has projected that fatalities due to the novel virus can mount over 3,000 a day by June 1 in the US which is twice the present rate.
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A draft government report has projected that fatalities due to the coronavirus can reach over 3,000 per day by June 1 in the United States which is twice the present rate. On the contrary, the US President Donald Trump had recently said that the death toll of COVID-19 disease can spike up to one lakh and expressed confidence over finding a vaccine before 2020 ends. As of May 5, US has confirmed at least 1,212,900 cases of coronavirus with 69,921 casualties.
The draft report by the US government came when some states have started lifting the restrictions that were imposed to curb the further spread of the disease. After originating from China’s “wet markets”, the coronavirus has now claimed 252,420 lives worldwide as of May 5. According to the tally by international news agency, the pandemic has now spread to 212 countries and has infected at least 3,646,255 people. Out of the total infections, 1,200,282 have been recovered but the easily spread virus is continuing to disrupt many lives. Major cities have been put under lockdown in almost all countries and the economy is struggling.
Up to 1,00,000 people in US likely to die
As the crisis due to coronavirus outbreak continues, Donald Trump had said on May 3 that up to 1,00,000 people in the US are likely to die due to the pandemic. This came after the COVID-19 death toll in America surpassed Trump’s previous estimates of being between 60,000 to 70,000. In an interview with an international media outlet, the US President also said that he was confident a vaccine would be developed by the end of 2020. Trump said “we’re going to lose anywhere from 75, 80 to 1,00,000 people. That’s horrible”.
Trump’s statements about the coronavirus outbreak in the US have been apparently alternated between forecasting the economic recovery in the country and placing the blame of mishandling of the pandemic in China. Meanwhile, after Trump administration introduced the plan for the phased reopening of the country, at least 50 per cent of the country has started lifting the lockdown partially. The US President said, “We can't stay closed as a country (or) we're not gonna have a country left”.
(With ANI inputs)
11:33 IST, May 5th 2020