President-elect Joe Biden has issued a dire warning about the spread of the coronavirus over the next two months, predicting as many as 250,000 deaths.
Biden, who has warned of a "dark winter" ahead, did not offer details to back up his assessment, which is far bleaker than projections by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other experts. His transition team did not immediately respond to a request to clarify the remarks.
Biden made the remarks Wednesday in a livestreamed roundtable with workers affected by the pandemic, making an appeal to Americans to take the virus seriously. "We're likely to lose another 250,000 people dead between now and January," Biden said. "You hear me? Because people aren't paying attention." He added. "You cannot be traveling during these holidays, as much as you want to."
Already, more than 272,000 Americans have died from the coronavirus this year.