Global Coronavirus Deaths Surpass 650,000; US May Hit 219,000 Death Toll By November

KEY POINTS

Daily deaths from COVID-19 are on the rise worldwide, averaging more than 5,000 per day thus far in July, WHO says
The U.S. death toll is approaching 150,000 and is projected to hit 219,000 total deaths by November
Arizona, California, Florida starting to see some signs of relief from Memorial Day resurgence

Known global deaths due to COVID-19 moved past the 650,000 mark Monday, with an average of more than 5,000 per day so far for the month of July, according to the World Health Organization.

The widening death toll is being driven by mounting fatalities in Asia, Europe and the Americas. The U.S., which leads the world in total cases and deaths, saw a new spike in deaths of more than 1,000 per day over a four-day period last week as the death toll approaches 150,000 nationwide.

The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, the independent global health research center at the University of Washington, projects 219,000 U.S. deaths by Nov. 1. That number could be reduced to 186,000 if a universal mask mandate were in place.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) projects 175,000 deaths in the U.S. by Aug. 15, which could be an underestimate based on the current rapid rate of infections.

The U.S. has 4.4 million COVID-19 cases in total since the pandemic began and is still in the throes of the Memorial Day resurgence. The surge in daily and total cases is showing some signs of leveling off in some of the hardest-hit states like Arizona, California and Florida.

WHO reports an increasing number of infections in more countries, including China, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Mexico, Peru, Colombia and Argentina. It noted the resurgence is leading some countries to again consider closing their borders. However, WHO disapproves of locking down entire countries.

"Continuing to keep international borders sealed is not necessarily a sustainable strategy for the world's economy, for the world's poor, or for anybody else," said Dr. Mike Ryan, Executive Director of the WHO Health Emergencies Program. He contends a "global one-size-fits-all policy" is impossible because outbreaks develop differently in different countries.

On Monday, WHO also said its experts will meet this week to discuss downgrading COVID-19's emergency status. On Jan. 30, WHO declared COVID-19 a Public Health Emergency of International Concern and issued a set of temporary recommendations.

On July 24, WHO reported a record-setting single-day increase in total global COVID-19 cases over a 24-hour span with 284,196, shattering the previous high mark of 259,848 set on July 18. It also reported the second highest single-day global death toll of 9,753, just shy of the record 9,797 deaths set on April 30.