Washington, Oct 31 (IANS): The Covid--19 death toll in the US, the worst-hit nation in the world due to the pandemic, is expected to reach almost 400,000 by February 1, 2021, according to an updated forecast.

Released on Friday, the new forecast from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington revealed it was most likely that by mid-January, 2,250 Americans will be dying every day from Covid-19, which is about three times of the current rate at around 800 deaths daily, reports Xinhua news agency.

The death toll would reach 399,163 by February 1, according to the projection.

If mandates ease, the death toll would increase to over 513,000 by February 1.

If masks are universally adopted, which would mean about 95 percent of people consistently wearing them, the IHME predicts about 337,600 deaths.

The IHME model also projects over 129,066 hospital beds will be needed by February 1 to take care of the infected.

As of Saturday morning, the overall number of global coronavirus cases in the US has increased to 9,036,678, while the death toll stood at 229,594, according to the Johns Hopkins University.