200,000 may die from coronavirus in US: Health official

WASHINGTON

The U.S. could see up to 200,000 deaths from coronavirus and millions of infected cases, the U.S. government's top infectious diseases official said Sunday.

"Looking at what we’re seeing now, we’re looking at 100,000 to 200,000 deaths,'' said Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, on CNN.

"We're going to have millions of cases."

Fauci, a member of the White House coronavirus task force, added that the predictions could change as the disease's outbreak is "such a moving target."

As of Sunday afternoon, at least 2,197 people have died and the number of infections rose to 125,300, with 2,612 recoveries, according to Johns Hopkins University data dashboard.

Most deaths were reported in New York state that had 718, with New York City the epicenter where 672 deaths have been recorded.

The first U.S. death occurred Feb. 29 in Washington state. A total of 136 people have died there.

Although the U.S. has more coronavirus cases than any other country, Italy has the most deaths with 10,023.

The Maryland-based university's data showed worldwide infections neared the 686,000 mark with more than 32,100 deaths. More than 145,700 have recovered from infections.

After first appearing in Wuhan, China in December, the virus known as COVID-19, has spread to 177 countries and regions.