US Covid hospitalisations, deaths likely to increase in next 4 weeks: CDC

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has published ensemble forecasts indicating the country's Covid-19 hospitalisations and deaths are likely to increase over the next four weeks.

The ensemble forecasts released on Wednesday predict 3,300 to 12,600 new deaths, 550,000 to 2,340,000 new cases likely reported in the week ending September 4, reports Xinhua news agency.

There will be 9,600 to 33,300 new confirmed Covid-19 hospitalizations likely reported on September 6, according to the CDC.

A total of 630,000 to 662,000 Covid-19 deaths will be reported by September 4, said the forecasts.

The previous forecasts, published August 4, predicted up to 642,000 deaths by August 28.

"Over the last several weeks, more reported cases have fallen outside of the forecasted prediction intervals than expected.

This suggests that current forecast prediction intervals may not capture the full range of uncertainty.

"Because of this, case forecasts for the coming weeks should be interpreted with caution," said the CDC.

AS of Thursday morning, the US' overall caseload and death toll stood at 36,185,761 and 618,454, respectively, according to the Johns Hopkins University.

The two tallies are the highest in the world, making the US the worst-hit country.