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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has predicted the US death toll from COVID-19 could go over 300,000 by mid-December.

Using projections from 36 models, the health agency says the country could climb to anywhere between 294,000 to 321,000 deaths by Dec. 19.

In the week ending on Dec. 19, there’s expected to be 10,600 to 21,400 new fatalities alone, the forecast shows.

The agency, however, noted that the models “make assumptions about the levels of social distancing and other interventions” — meaning that Americans can lessen the blow if they’re more strict about public health measures to stop the spread of the virus.

The US has already recorded at least 263,000 virus-related fatalities since the pandemic began, according to the latest figures from Johns Hopkins University.

Experts have previously warned that the country is on course to lose more than 511,000 lives from the virus by the end of February, the Guardian reported.