Covid death toll hits 400,000 before Trump leaves, CDC says

Photographer: Go Nakamura / Bloomberg

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now predict that the U.S. will see 400,000 deaths from coronavirus by January 20, when President Donald Trump will leave office.

The country exceeded 100,000 dead in May and 200,000 four months later. It passed 300,000 in three months, and the 400,000 looks would only last one month, the CDC found using a collection of mathematical models. The US has one of the highest death rates of countries hardest hit by the virus, behind only Italy, Spain and the UK, scaled for population.

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The predicted rate would mean another 65,000 deaths in the coming weeks. The numbers are a reminder of the increasing speed at which the virus claims to be living in the US, underscoring the urgency of vaccine distribution efforts.

President-elect Joe Biden was expected on Tuesday Blaming the Trump administration for slow vaccine rollout, which is over 2 million doses given, a fraction of the 20 million promised by the end of the year.

Deaths climb

The number of deaths from Covid-19 in the US is expected to reach 400,000 by mid-January

Source: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Weekly deaths are predicted to rise through January 16, although the number of national cases has been declining for two weeks amid patchy holiday reports. Only Washington State reported a seven-day average in cases that was significantly higher than a week ago, according to data from the Covid Tracking Project.

Nationally, the US published 162,190 new Covid-19 cases on Monday, according to data from Covid Tracking Project. At least 335,051 deaths have been attributed to the virus Johns Hopkins University Data.

According to data from the Covid Tracking Project:

• Connecticut, Kansas, and Arizona had the highest new cases per million people.
• Connecticut also reported a one-day file record on Monday.