135k could die in US by August: New projection

WASHINGTON: Deaths in the US from Covid-19 are projected to double to 134,475 by August, according to a forecast from a widely cited research model. America’s death toll currently stands at more than 70,000.

The new projection for August 4 came from the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), a University of Washington body. A draft government report has separately predicted a spike in fatalities by around 3,000 per day by June 1; up from around 1,500 fatalities being reported now.

The projection in the draft government report was first reported by The New York Times and has been since disowned by the White House, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and researchers from Johns Hopkins University.

US President Donald Trump was unfazed by the predictions.

He told reporters before leaving for Arizona that the models were based on the assumption of no mitigation efforts. “That assumes no mitigation and we’re going to have mitigation,” he said. Earlier, a White House spokesman had dismissed the NYT report.

AT LEAST 15 CHILDREN HOSPITALISED IN NYC

A CNN report said that 15 kids had been hospitalised in New York City with symptoms linked to Covid-19. The children, aged between two and 15 years, were admitted from April 17 to May 1, according to the health department. Many of them tested positive for Covid-19. Some of them reportedly had features similar to Kawasaki disease or symptoms of toxic shock syndrome.