Coronavirus May 15, 2020

As States Prepare To Open, CDC Models Now Show 100,000 Deaths By June 1

WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 22: Dr. Robert Redfield, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention speaks while U.S. President Donald Trump listens during the daily briefing of the coronavirus task force at the White House on April 22, 2020 in Washington, DC. Dr. Redfield, has said that a potential second wave of coronavirus later this year could flare up again and coincide with flu season. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

The forecasting models tracked by the Centers for Disease Control are showing that by June 1, America will pass 100,000 deaths from coronavirus. Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the CDC released the new models Friday.

CDC tracks 12 different forecasting models of possible #COVID19 deaths in the US. As of May 11, all forecast an increase in deaths in the coming weeks and a cumulative total exceeding 100,000 by June 1. See national & state forecasts: https://t.co/PI1AtLCCmt pic.twitter.com/iylBnom5U0
— Dr. Robert R. Redfield (@CDCDirector) May 15, 2020

But the number will go much higher. CNN writes: “His tweet comes after researchers at the University of Washington revised the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation model on Tuesday — often cited by the White House — upward to 147,000 coronavirus deaths in the United States by August 4.“

At least 48 states will at least partially reopen by next week. The traditional beginning of summer, the Memorial Day weekend, begins a week from today.

The White House announced on March 31 that the best case scenario would be 100,000 deaths from COVID-19. Worst case – 240,000 fatalities. At the time, Dr. Deborah Birx said:

“This is the thing that we need to anticipate, but that doesn’t mean that’s what we are going to accept. We want to do much, much better than that”