The White House coronavirus task force shared data Tuesday evening as they pleaded with the American public to follow social distancing and other mitigation measures. The modeling, they say, backs up their new 30-day recommendations to avoid gatherings, travel or social visits.
One chart displayed by Dr. Deborah Birx displayed what she called a "blue mountain" seen on the first slide below — deaths hitting a peak of around 2.2 million — a projection of what could have taken place without any countermeasures at all. A shallower "hill," she said, shows a decreased number of deaths — still at least 100,000 predicted — with interventions.
Dr. Birx also shared a model from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, which projects the U.S. will peak in cases in mid-April.
Other slides included cumulative rates per 100,000 by state — showing outbreaks in New York and New Jersey leading the country by far, as well as Washington State possibly starting to level off and Italy's case trajectory, which appears to be finally declining.
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