Just over 408,000 Americans have died from the coronavirus, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. That staggering number is higher than the number of American servicemembers who died during World War II.
According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, 291,557 Americans died in battle between 1941 and 1945, and another 113,842 members of the military died in service during the war. That is a total of 405,399 deaths of servicemembers over the five-year period.
There have been more than 408,000 deaths from COVID-19 in one year. The first patient in America to test positive for the coronavirus was on January 21, 2020, and the first death in America from the coronavirus is believed to be on February 6. A post-mortem investigation found the deceased had coronavirus.
There were more than 100,000 deaths from COVID-19 in America in less than a month. On December 22, the country recorded 300,000 deaths, and by January 19, 400,000 deaths.
Back in October, a scientific model used by the University of Washington predicted deaths from COVID-19 could reach 500,000 by March 2021 if mask wearing, social distancing and other preventative measures were not universally adopted.
“We find that achieving universal mask use (95% mask use in public) could be sufficient to ameliorate the worst effects of epidemic resurgences in many states,” the studystated.
Also fueling the recent surge are variants of the coronavirus popping up in various states. Scientists say some of these variants are more transmissible, however it is not clear if they cause more severe symptoms.
“A higher rate of transmission will lead to more cases, increasing the number of persons overall who need clinical care, exacerbating the burden on an already strained health care system, and resulting in more deaths,” a CDC report from last week stated.
The CDC believes the UK variant could spread quickly around the U.S. and become the dominant strain by March.