The coronavirus death toll in the U.S. crossed the 70,000 mark on Tuesday, while total global deaths topped a quarter of a million. According to Johns Hopkins University, the U.S. now has over 1.1 million total cases, and continues to confirm between 25-30,000 new cases per day.
But the latest data from the University of Washington's Institute for Health Modeling and Evaluation predicts the country could see as many as 135,000 lives lost from the coronavirus by August. IHME officials say this projection could very easily become reality, due in part by the many states that are now easing their restrictions and social distancing orders.
“In each state, the evolution of the epidemic depends on the balance between relaxed social distancing, increasing temperature and rising rates of testing and contact tracing,” IHME Director Christopher Murray said. “We expect that the epidemic in many states will now extend through the summer.”
John Hopkins University officials also walked back a recent leaked report that suggested the U.S. could see 300,000 cases a day by June 1st, saying the report included "preliminary results" that were not an official forecast.
Come May 11, at least 31 states are expected to ease their social distancing orders in an attempt to open the country back up.
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