Daily COVID-19 death rates in US to triple by mid-January: Experts warn

Experts have issued a warning that the death rates could triple by mid-January as the daily COVID-19 cases tally reached a record high in the US on Thursday.

As many as 88,521 new infections were reported on October 29 which is 9,540 more cases than Wednesday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

The total tally has reached 8,944,934 cases and at least 228,656 deaths in the US – 971 of them on Thursday, the data shows.

Former commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration, Dr. Scott Gottlieb said, “This is the hardest point in this pandemic right now – the next two months.”

"We can't give up our guard right now."

Meanwhile, according to The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington School of Medicine, it is more likely that by the middle of January, 2,250 Americans will be dying every day from the pandemic – three times more than the current rate.

And it could get much worse.

"If states do not react to rising numbers by re-imposing mandates, cumulative deaths could reach 514,000 by the same date," the IHME said in its latest forecast.

"The fall/winter surge should lead to a daily death toll that is approximately three times higher than now by mid-January. Hospital systems, particularly ICUs, are expected to be under extreme stress in December and January in 18 states."