Analysis: Coronavirus now third-leading cause of death in US

The coronavirus has become the third-highest cause of death in the U.S., according to a doctor’s analysis of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data.

Maria Danilychev of San Diego charted coronavirus growth throughout the country and found that COVID-19 fatalities had surpassed Alzheimer’s, stroke and chronic lung disease with 748 deaths per day and rising, The Sacramento Bee reported Wednesday.

The analysis is based on reports from a single day, assuming the rate of deaths remains the same or increases from now until the virus hits the projected apex towards the end of April.

Heart disease is responsible for 1,774 U.S. deaths per day, and cancer causes 1,641 deaths each day, according to the CDC.

CDC data from 2017 showed more than 647,000 people die from heart disease each year while another 599,000 die from cancer. Accidents were the third-leading cause of death at the time, accounting for 169,000 deaths annually.

President Trump and the White House coronavirus task force predicted Tuesday that between 100,000 and 240,000 people in America would die from the pandemic before it is through, with Trump and other officials reinforcing the idea that people must maintain social distancing measures to lower the curve.

“We’re going to go through a very tough two weeks, and then hopefully … we’re going to start seeing some real light at the end of the tunnel,” Trump told reporters in the White House briefing room.

“As a nation, we face a difficult few weeks as we approach that really important day when we’re going to see things get better all of a sudden,” he added. “Our strength will be tested, and our endurance will be tried, but America will answer with love and courage and ironclad resolve.”

The U.S. reached its first 1,000 deaths from the coronavirus Thursday, and the total’s growth is speeding up substantially.

As of Wednesday, more than 4,100 people have died from COVID-19 in the U.S., with more than 44,000 deaths from the virus worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University data.