Photo:VCG

The COVID-19 death toll in the United States is expected to reach almost 400,000 by Feb 1, according to an updated key COVID-19 model.

According to the new forecast from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington, it is most likely that by mid-January, 2,250 Americans will be dying every day from COVID-19, which is about three times of the current rate at around 800 deaths per day.

The death toll would reach 399,163 by Feb 1, according to the projection.

If mandates ease, the death toll would increase to over 513,000 by Feb 1. If masks are universally adopted, which would mean about 95 percent of people consistently wearing masks, the IHME predicts about 337,600 deaths.

The IHME model also projects over 129,066 hospital beds are needed by Feb 1 to take care of the infected.