The U.S. government’s foremost infection disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, says the country could experience anywhere between 100,000 – 200,000 deaths and millions of infections from the current coronavirus pandemic. His prediction would take the death toll well past that of the average seasonal flu.
Dr. Fauci was recently featured on CNN’s “State of the Union” and shared his prediction for how the country will come out of the COVID-19 crisis. “I would say between 100,000 and 200,000 cases,” he said, before correcting himself to say he meant deaths. “We’re going to have millions of cases.” But he added, “I don’t want to be held to that” because the pandemic is “such a moving target.”
Approximately 125,000 COVID-19 cases in the U.S. have been recorded as of Sunday morning, with over 2,100 reported dead. Dr. Deborah Birx, head of the White House coronavirus task force, said parts of the country less impacted can prepare for what’s ahead. “No state, no metro area, will be spared,” she said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
Currently, one in three Americans remain under state or local government “stay at home” orders to slow the spread of the virus, with schools and businesses closed and public life at a halt.
