University of Washington forecasts 300,000 U.S. COVID-19 deaths

FILE PHOTO: Customers wait in line to shop for food at a Food 4 Less grocery store, during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Los Angeles, California, U.S., August 5, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Blake

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Nearly 300,000 Americans could be dead from COVID-19 by Dec. 1, University of Washington health experts forecast on Thursday, although they said 70,000 lives could be saved if people were scrupulous about wearing masks.

The latest predictions from the university's widely cited Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) comes as top White House infectious disease advisers warned that major U.S. cities could erupt as new coronavirus hot spots if officials there were not vigilant with counter-measures.