Nation Half a million deaths by the end of February? Current COVID-19 strategies have the US headed in that direction, experts say October 23, 2020Adrianna Rodriguez and Elizabeth Weise, USA TODAYComments Off on Half a million deaths by the end of February? Current COVID-19 strategies have the US headed in that direction, experts say Researchers from the University of Washington also found that wearing masks in public to prevent COVID-19 spread could save nearly 130,000 lives.