More than 1,900 Americans died in connection with the novel coronavirus on Tuesday, marking a spike in the virus' still-rising death rate.
According to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington, Tuesday's spike marked the largest increase in the daily number of deaths since the virus reached America. Deaths linked to the virus had hovered around about 1,200 a day since last Friday.
Tuesday's spike is likely a preview of what's to come in the next few days. According to the IHME, deaths linked to the virus are projected to peak in the coming days as the need for hospital resources max out.
The IHME currently projects that about 2,000 Americans will die every day of COVID-19 between Wednesday and April 17.
The IHME's projections for U.S. deaths linked to the coronavirus have actually fallen in recent days. As of Wednesday, the model currently projects total deaths to reach 60,000 by August, down from about 80,000 on Monday.
As of Wednesday morning, there were 399,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the United States and 12,911 deaths linked the virus, according to a database kept by Johns Hopkins. The vast majority of cases remain in New York City, where more than 75,000 people are confirmed to have contracted the virus.
New Orleans also remains a hot spot for COVID-19 with more than 5,000 confirmed cases in Orleans Parish. The Parish currently ranks as one of the highest areas for
rate of infection per 100,000,
with 1,268.
