U.S. coronavirus death toll hits 250,000

A man prays at a memorial for American COVID-19 victims.
(Image credit: Win McNamee/Getty Images)

The U.S. coronavirus death toll topped 250,000 on Wednesday, with nearly every state reporting an increase in new daily cases compared to this time last week.

In March, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, predicted that the coronavirus might kill up to 240,000 Americans. The deadliest day of the pandemic was April 15, with 2,752 deaths reported that day. Experts say that this winter, there could be 2,000 deaths reported a day, and "it all depends on what we do and how we address this outbreak," Dr. Jeffrey Shaman of Columbia University told The New York Times. "That is going to determine how much it runs through us."

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.