Coronavirus: US Could See 1 To 2 Lakh Deaths From COVID-19, Says Donald Trump Govt's Top Expert

The top infection disease expert in the Donald Trump administration has predicted that the United States will see 1,00,000 to 2,00,000 deaths from the coronavirus pandemic. The prediction came on Saundy as the number of COVID-19 infected people rose to nearly 1.5 lakh in the country.

Anthony Fauci, the Director of National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said in an interview that the US will certainly have millions of cases of COVID-19 and more than 1 lakh deaths.

Speaking to CNN, Fauci said, "Looking at what we are seeing now, I would say between 100,000-200,00 deaths from coronavirus. We're going to have millions of cases."

"But I don't want to be held to that because the pandemic is such a moving target," Fauci added.

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump said that the peak death rate from the COVID-19 pandemic was likely to hit in two weeks. Trump, during a briefing at the White House, also said that he was extending the government's social distancing guidelines until April 30.

Trump also said he expects the country "will be well on our way to recovery" by June 1. He had earlier predicted the recovery to begin by Easter.

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the US has increased to 142,502, the highest in terms of infections globally, according to the latest tally from Johns Hopkins University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE).

The CSSE data showed that at least 2,5506 people have died due to the disease in the country, of which 776 were recorded in New York state, the epicentre of the pandemic in the US, according to Xinhua news agency.

Globally, the number of COVID-19 cases stand at over 6.8 lakh with more than 34,00 deaths.

(With Agency Inputs)