US virus deaths could reach 200,000: Fauci

NEW YORK: US deaths from coronavirus could reach 200,000 with millions of cases, the government’s top infectious diseases expert warned on Sunday as New York, New Orleans and other major cities warned they would soon run out of medical supplies.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, estimated in an interview with CNN that the pandemic could cause between 100,000 and 200,000 deaths in the US. Since 2010, the flu has killed between 12,000 and 61,000 Americans a year, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The 1918-19 flu pandemic killed 675,000 in the US, according to the CDC. A shortage of ventilators in several major cities worsened as the US death count crossed 2,100 on Saturday. New York City will need hundreds more ventilators in a few days and more masks, gowns and other supplies by April 5, said Mayor Bill de Blasio on Sunday.