© Kena Betancur / Getty ImagesThe USNS Comfort, a Navy hospital ship, is docked at Pier 90 on April 3, 2020, in New York City.
As coronavirus models go, the one put forth by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington, or IHME, has been one of the more optimistic ones.
According to
The Washington Post, the model predicted 38,000 to 162,000 deaths in the United States — lower than most models and lower than the White House
estimate of 100,000 to 240,000 deaths.
Even though it may be conservative, however, the IHME model might not have been conservative enough.
Take
New York, the epicenter of the disease. According to the IHME model, the state would have needed 50,962 hospital beds on April 1, on the way to peak usage April 9. On that day, it would need 76,130 hospital beds.
Comment: Seems even New York's manipulation of the death rate by including any symptom that is vaguely like the coronavirus as a cause of death hasn't worked out so perfectly. No worries. Most people won't see these details, and most of those who do will see through the facts because 'people are dying'!