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Joe Biden (recorded early November): "I don't want to scare anyone, but understand the facts"
Photo: Carolyn Kaster / dpa
Joe Biden is not yet in office; he is not due to be sworn in as the 46th President of the United States until January 20.
He takes over the official business in the middle of winter - and probably at the height of the current corona wave.
With a view to the virus situation, the elected US President has warned the Americans of a dramatic increase in the number of deaths and urged them to take protective measures.
"I don't want to scare anyone, but get the facts: We'll likely lose another 250,000 people between now and January," Biden said on Wednesday (local time) at an online event with employees and small business owners.
'Do you understand me?
Because people are not careful. «The spread of the virus must be contained.
Biden did not provide any information on what he based his estimate of 250,000 other dead.
According to statistics from the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, the coronavirus has killed more than 270,000 people in the United States since the pandemic began.
A model by researchers at the IHME Institute at the University of Washington in the US state of Seattle estimates that more than 502,000 deaths by the end of January in the case of relaxed protective measures, and more than 367,000 in the case of stricter protective measures.
This model has also been cited several times in the past by the White House.
"December, January and February will be tough"
The head of the CDC health authority, Robert Redfield, said at an event by the US Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday: "Unfortunately, I believe that we could be in the vicinity of 450,000 virus deaths before February." But that is not settled, it depends the extent to which the Americans adhered to protective measures.
“The reality is: December, January and February will be tough.
In fact, I believe it will be the most difficult times in this nation's public health history. "
In the official residence of the outgoing President Donald Trump, despite the CDC warnings, celebrations over the Christmas period are being held, as the White House spokeswoman made clear on Wednesday.
The celebrations are held responsibly and with protective measures, she stressed.
Trump has repeatedly downplayed the threat posed by the virus.
More than 100,000 corona patients in US hospitals
The number of new infections in the USA had recently increased further, the number of corona deaths recorded within 24 hours reached a new high since mid-April at 2597 on Tuesday.
In total, more than 13.7 million people have been infected with the coronavirus in the country with around 330 million inhabitants.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, more than 270,000 people who were infected with the Sars-CoV-2 pathogen have died.
In absolute terms, that's more than in any other country in the world.
The number of Covid 19 patients treated as inpatients is also at an all-time high in the USA.
According to the Covid Tracking Project from Wednesday evening, more than 100,000 patients had to be treated in hospital for the first time nationwide.
CDC chief Redford also justified his urgent warning with the strain on the health system in the US states.
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jok / dpa