US, UK & Italy may suffer majority of coronavirus deaths, study reveals

The US is expected to suffer the most coronavirus deaths, a new study shows. The UK is likely to have the second-biggest death toll, overtaking Italy and becoming the worst-affected nation in Europe.

The new projection by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington's School of Medicine focuses on projecting the coronavirus situation in the US, as well as in European countries. The expected death toll has been modeled based on local and international data on case numbers, as well as mortality breakdowns by age.

The US, which has had by far the largest number of coronavirus cases in the world, is unsurprisingly in first place. According to the IHME study, the country is poised to sustain some 81,000 coronavirus deaths before August 4. In the worst case scenario, the death toll might even surpass the 136,000 mark.

The UK has landed in an unexpected second place, with over 66,000 deaths projected. If the prognosis turns out to be accurate, such a staggering figure puts Britain's Covid-19 death toll far ahead of any other European nation and likely into the second place worldwide. Moreover, the UK virus toll might be even higher as the study puts the expected number in 55,000-80,000 range.

Italy, which has been one of the worst-affected nations and suffered the largest number of deaths so far, is put in third place by the study with some 20,000-21,000 coronavirus deaths expected by August 4.

While a death toll of 20,000 might seem unlikely for Italy, as more than 16,000 people have already succumbed to the disease, the study suggests that the country has passed its epidemic peak. Britain's coronavirus spread drags behind other European nations, but the alarming growth over the past few days suggests its coronavirus peak is expected by April 19.

The coronavirus pandemic has already resulted in more than 76,000 deaths worldwide, while more than 1,360,000 cases of the disease have been confirmed, according to the latest figures by John Hopkins University. Nearly 300,000 people have successfully recovered from the deadly disease.

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