Leaked White House Document Projects COVID-19 Deaths will Skyrocket
An internal administration report predicts a grim trajectory, even as the president pushes for the country to reopen.

By Yasemin Saplakoglu | Staff Writer

LIVE SCIENCE - May 5, 2020 | By June, there could be nearly twice as many coronavirus deaths in the U.S. and eight times as many cases reported as there are today, according to projections from an internal Trump administration document that was obtained by The New York Times.

Currently, the country's daily death toll stands around 1,750; but by June 1, it could reach 3,000 daily deaths, according to the projections that are based on models put together by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The models also predict that by June 1, the U.S. will log about 200,000 new COVID-19 cases every day, compared with about 25,000 new COVID-19 cases each day currently.

Despite the grim trajectory laid out by these private projections, which are labeled "For Official Use Only," President Donald Trump has been pushing for states to re-open and kickstart their economies. Indeed, despite a growing number of coronavirus cases in states including Texas, Iowa, Tennessee and Minnesota, governors are easing restrictions.

On Monday (May 5), the White House issued a statement saying, "this is not a White House document, nor has it been presented to the Coronavirus Task Force or gone through interagency vetting." Similarly, despite the document bearing the logo of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the agency denied responsibility for the report, The Washington Post reported.