U.S. may reach 100,000 more deaths by December 1

The U.S. is projected to reach nearly 100,000 more COVID-19 deaths by Dec. 1.

That's the prediction from the nation's most closely watched forecasting model. But health experts say that toll could be cut in half if nearly everyone wore a mask in public spaces.

Some behavior changes already may be flattening the curve in a few places in the South where the coronavirus has raged this summer. An Associated Press analysis shows the rate of new cases is slowing in Mississippi, Florida, Louisiana and Arkansas.

The projection from models at the University of Washington indicates deaths will rise to nearly 1,400 a day by mid-September, then decline slowly.

Deaths are currently averaging 1,100 a day in the U.S., turning the clock back to mid-March. The projection is an additional 98,000 Americans will die by the start of December, for an overall U.S. death toll of nearly 730,000.