White House Rejects Government Report Projecting Rising Coronavirus Death Toll

The Trump administration on Monday pushed back against an internal government report, obtained by the New York Times, that predicts the daily coronavirus death toll could nearly double in the United States by early June.

The Times story cites an internal CDC update, acquired from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, that predicts the number of deaths per day from COVID-19 will reach about 3,000 by June 1.

More than 68,000 people in the United States have already died from the coronavirus pandemic, summarily eclipsing an earlier estimate of a total U.S. death toll of 60,000 lives lost from the virus.

"This is not a White House document nor has it been presented to the coronavirus task force or gone through interagency vetting," White House spokesman Judd Deere said in a statement.

The internal document obtained by the Times also suggests that by the end of the month, the country would likely experience 200,000 new cases a day, up from a current rate of about 25,000 a day.