US: CDC predicts more than 100K Covid-19 deaths by June

12 forecasting models see increase in deaths in coming weeks, says CDC head Robert Redfield

WASHINGTON: The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) predicted more than 100,000 deaths from the coronavirus by the end of May, Director Dr. Robert Redfield said 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," Redfield tweeted.

The University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation predicted Tuesday 140,000 virus-related deaths by the beginning of August.

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As of Friday evening, the US reported more than 1.4 million cases and greater than 87,400 deaths, according to a running tally by Johns Hopkins University.

Since the virus emerged last December in the Chinese city of Wuhan, it has spread to at least 188 countries and regions.

There are more than 4.5 million confirmed global infections with an excess of 300,000 deaths, while 1.6 million patients have recovered.