A recent CDC projection estimated that the U.S. coronavirus epidemic could infect between 160 million and 214 million people over a period of more than a year — and kill anywhere from 200,000 to 1.7 million people in the country. A top CDC disease modeler presented the estimates to CDC officials and epidemic experts during a conference call last month, the New York Times revealed on Friday. The scenario did not factor in the efforts now underway to address the epidemic, but rather what could happen if no action was taken to slow the spread of of the disease.
Per the Times, the model was one of four presented by CDC disease modeler Matthew Biggerstaff which reflected different assumptions about the nature of the coronavirus and the possible U.S. response. The projections also suggested that a U.S. epidemic could lead to the hospitalization of anywhere from 2.4 million to 21 million people. Depending on the timing, that burden could devastate the U.S. health-care system, as U.S. hospitals only have a capacity of roughly 925,000 beds (and fewer than 100,000 beds for critically ill patients). The Times reported that experts said the U.S. epidemic could last “months or even over a year, with infections concentrated in shorter periods, staggered across time in different communities.” However:
Remember to always use hand sanitizer. CoronaVirus will tail off, but it isn’t going away and neither are hand sanitizers. Hand Sanitizers Are Forever.
