(CNN) — More than 130,000 people could die over the next few months from Covid-19 if leaders across the US don’t implement safety measures like mask mandates heading into fall, researchers say.
If mask use increases from 53% to 95%, it could save almost 70,000 lives, according to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington.
“It really depends on what our leaders do,” Dr. Chris Murray, the head of the institute, said.
At least 175,409 Americans have died since the pandemic began, a number the institute projects could reach nearly 310,000 by December 1. The new prediction is about 15,000 deaths higher than their earlier forecast from two weeks ago due to several factors, Murray said.
“In some states, California is a good example, cases peaked, they’re coming down but deaths haven’t,” Murray told CNN’s Anderson Cooper Friday night. “They’re sort of staying pretty steady.”
And there is still increased transmission in states like Kentucky, Minnesota and Indiana, he said.
“There’s more happening around Covid than we sort of expected for this time of the year and that’s playing out into these forecasts,” Murray added.
Across parts of the US, cases have been on the decline for weeks but deaths remain relatively elevated. The country’s seven-day average for daily deaths topped 1,000 for at least 24 days in a row. US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Robert Redfield said earlier this week he expects deaths to begin declining by next week as a result of continued mitigation measures.
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