New projection puts U.S. COVID-19 deaths at over 200,000 by October

FILE PHOTO: An ambulance is seen backed up to a temporary morgue outside Wyckoff Heights Medical Center in Brooklyn, during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in New York City, New York, U.S., May 27, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Segar/File Photo

A new forecast projects 201,129 deaths due to COVID-19 in the United States through the beginning of October mainly due to reopening measures under way, the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington said on Monday.

The IHME raised its estimate by 18 percent from 169,890 and said Florida would be among the hardest hit states, with an estimated 18,675 deaths, up 186 percent from a previous estimate of 6,559 on June 10.

The institute raised its estimate for deaths in California by 72 percent to 15,155 from 8,812 and increased its outlook for Arizona by 56 percent to 7,415 fatalities from 4,762.

(Reporting By Andrew Hay in Taos, New Mexico; Editing by Chris Reese)