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Jun 24, 2020 - Researchers predict more than 179000 people in the U.S. will die from the ... Model Predicts Tens of Thousands of Lives Could be Saved if Almost Everyone Uses Masks ... by October – a number that drops almost 20% if most people wear masks in public. ... California Limits Fall School Reopenings.
Model Predicts Tens of Thousands of Lives Could be Saved if Almost Everyone Uses Masks
Researchers predict more than 179,000 people in the U.S. will die from the coronavirus by October – a number that drops almost 20% if most people wear masks in public.
A WIDELY CITED coronavirus model predicts that tens of thousands of American lives could be saved over the next few months if almost everyone wears masks when out in public.
Researchers behind a model that has been cited by the White House predict that more than 179,000 people in the U.S. will die from the coronavirus by the start of October. That number drops to just over 146,000 fatalities if at least 95% of people wear masks in public.
Photos: COVID-19 From Above
"There is no doubt that even as states open up, the United States is still grappling with a large epidemic on a course to increase beginning in late August and intensifying in September," Christopher Murray, the director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington, said in a statement. "People need to know that wearing masks can reduce transmission of the virus by as much as 50 percent, and those who refuse are putting their lives, their families, their friends, and their communities at risk."
The newest prediction is significantly lower than the model's last update on June 15, which estimated over 200,000 deaths from the virus by Oct. 1. The researchers said that while case counts have increased, the death rate hasn't – though that could change in the near future.
[MAP: The Spread of Coronavirus]
"States reporting the ages of confirmed cases suggest there are more cases being detected in younger people who are at substantially lower risk of death than older people," Murray said. "It remains to be seen how this will unfold over the next few weeks, and if transmission continues to go up, we may see increasing infections in at-risk populations."
Leading infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci addressed the perceived political meaning behind wearing masks, saying masks clearly make a difference in the spread of the virus.
"There's no secret formula for that, except to say get past it," Fauci said during an interview at the Sacramento Press Club on Wednesday. "It should not be a political issue. It is purely a public health issue. Forget the politics. Look at the data."
President Donald Trump just this week refused to wear a mask during his rally in Phoenix, despite a request from the city's mayor. Many attendees in that event and his earlier rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, were seen without masks.
Tags: public health, coronavirus
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