The U.S. has reached another grim milestone amid the coronavirus pandemic, as deaths linked to the disease topped 100,000 on Wednesday, according to a database kept by Johns Hopkins University.
All U.S. deaths linked to the virus have occurred since February — a span of just three months.
A model put together by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington — which is routinely used by the White House to track the virus — a total of 143,000 Americans will die of the virus by August.
The CDC reports that while more than half of those who have died of COVID-19 were 75 years and older, the virus is still killing adults of all ages. People aged between 45 and 64 represent 18 percent of deaths, and people aged between 18 and 44 represent 3 percent of deaths.
According to the CDC, racial and ethnic minorities have experienced a disproportionate share of COVID-19 deaths. The agency cites a variety of factors for the disparity, including living conditions, work circumstances and lower access to health care.
New York and New Jersey continue to be the epicenter of the pandemic in the U.S. with more than 500,000 cases combined.
The East Coast remains the hardest hit by COVID-19. Michigan, Illinois and Louisiana are the only states and districts among the top 10 in deaths per 1,000 people. But various reports indicate that the virus poses an increasing threat to rural America, just as states begin lifting lockdown and social-distancing restrictions.
The U.S. continues to lead the world in COVID-19-related deaths and number of confirmed cases. According to Johns Hopkins, the United Kingdom and Italy trail behind the U.S. in virus-related deaths with about 37,000 and 33,000, respectively.
In terms of confirmed cases, Brazil and Russia are the only other countries with more than 300,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases. The United Kingdom and Spain round out the top 5 with about 263,000 and 236,000 cases, respectively.
Health experts agree that worldwide, COVID-19 cases and deaths have been
underreported.
For many, the virus exhibits only mild symptoms, meaning many who contract the disease never seek out a test.