The United States has reached another grim milestone in the COVID-19 pandemic. The nation’s death toll has surpassed 170,000, Johns Hopkins data showed Monday morning.
On Sunday alone, deaths in the U.S. rose by over 480, according to a Reuters tally, with Florida, Texas and Louisiana reporting the most fatalities.
The U.S. continues to lead the world in deaths and the number of cases reported, with at least 5.4 million people diagnosed with the novel coronavirus in the country. Johns Hopkins shows the next highest country is Brazil, with over 3.3 million diagnosed and 107,000 dead.
Citing a national ensemble forecast, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said last Thursday that estimates show the U.S. could reach 200,000 deaths from COVID-19 by Labor Day weekend.
The head of the CDC says the pandemic could become even more dire in the months to come. Director Robert Redfield told WebMD that “this could be the worst fall, from a public health perspective, we’ve ever seen.”
The reason? Redfield points to the combination of the COVID-19 surge and flu season. He said, "we're going to have COVID in the fall, we're going to have flu in the fall."
The CDC continues to encourage Americans to wash their hands, socially distance themselves, wear masks, and avoid large gatherings.
Click here to learn more about how the CDC recommends you protect yourself and others from the coronavirus.