Researchers revise US coronavirus death forecast upward again
India TodayA newly revised coronavirus mortality model predicts more than 147,000 Americans will die from Covid-19 by early August, up nearly 10,000 from the last projection, as restrictions for curbing the pandemic are relaxed, researchers said on Tuesday. The latest forecast from the University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation reflects "key drivers of viral transmission like changes in testing and mobility, as well as easing of distancing policies," the report said. The revision reinforced public health warnings, including U.S. Senate testimony on Tuesday from Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, that prematurely lifting lockdowns could lead to more outbreaks of the respiratory virus. "The full potential effects of recent actions to ease social distancing policies, especially if robust containment measures have yet to be fully scaled up, may not be fully known for a few weeks due to the time periods between viral exposure, possible infection and full disease progression," the report said. Covid-19, the respiratory illness caused by the novel coronavirus, has already claimed nearly 81,000 lives in the United States, out of more than 1.36 million known infections, according to a Reuters tally.