WASHINGTON, D.C. (NBC) – Top U.S. health officials came out with a grim assessment Monday, saying the government expects 100,000 to 200,000 deaths in the United States, and they say that’s if everything goes well.
It comes as President Trump has extended the federal stay-at-home guidelines until the end of this April, with cases and strains on hospitals mounting.
The stunning new death toll predictions come with a sharp warning: too many Americans are still putting themselves and others in harm’s way by refusing to stay home.
The devastating toll of the coronavirus crisis is beginning to sink in as top health officials predict a staggering number of Americans are likely to die.
White House Coronavirus Task Force member Dr. Deborah Birx said, “If we do things together well, almost perfectly, we could get in the range of 100,000 to 200,000 fatalities.”
Compare that estimate to the worst case of more than two million deaths if we did nothing.
Social distancing remains our best weapon but experts say too many Americans are refusing to follow the guidance to stay apart, still gathering in groups where the disease can quickly spread.
President Trump is now extending those distancing guidelines through the end of April backing off his earlier goal to reopen much of the country by Easter.
Trump said, “The worst thing we can do is declare victory. We’ve seen this. Declare victory and then not have victory and then have to do it all over again.”
In New York, the U.S. epicenter, crews set up a field hospital in Central Park as a massive Navy hospital ship docks to relieve pressure on the city’s overwhelmed hospital system.
N.Y. Governor Andrew Cuomo said, “What you see us going through here, you will see happening across the rest of the country.”
Detroit, New Orleans, and Chicago have now all been declared coronavirus “hot spots.”
And as the virus spreads, so does the urgent need for ventilators and protective equipment for medical workers on the front lines.
Meanwhile, in labs around the world, scientists searching for treatments and vaccines. From a long-used anti-malaria drug to experimental plasma infusions, an arms race is on against a deadly enemy.
There’s already a human trial underway for one potential vaccine with more coming. But even moving at record speeds, it could take up to 18 months to have a vaccine widely available.
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