Coronavirus task force coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx credited the public’s change in behavior for a recent decline in expected coronavirus deaths.
“What has been so remarkable, I think, to those of us who’ve been in the science field for so long is how important behavioral change is and how amazing Americans are in adapting to … these behavioral changes,” Birx said during Wednesday’s White House briefing.
The White House uses a model created by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, which predicts much less extreme shortages than other models in medical supplies and hospital beds and expects the peak of the virus to come later this month.
Birx said the IHME model initially predicted about 86,000 deaths, which decreased to about 81,000, and most recently predicted about 61,000 deaths.
She added that the declining rate of predicted deaths is “modeled on what America is doing,” such as social distancing and self-isolation measures. The United States has reported 14,695 deaths.
The U.S. has the highest number of confirmed coronavirus cases, with Spain and Italy taking second and third place. Italy and Spain, though, have had more people die.
