500,000 US corona deaths... "I could wear a mask next year"

<Anchor> In the

United States, the number of deaths from Corona has approached 500,000.

The number of confirmed cases has recently decreased due to vaccination, but there is a prospect that the mask will continue to be worn until next year.

This is Kim Jong-won from New York.

<Reporter>

Statistics show that one in 500,000 corona deaths and 670 Americans died of coronavirus.

This is more than the number of Vietnamese war dead in World War I and II combined.

[Anthony Pouch/Director of the National Medical Center Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research Center: It's terrible.

It's a historical thing.

This is the first time in 102 years (after the influenza pandemic in 1918).]

Although the United States has the highest number of confirmed cases and deaths in the world, the recent spread has slowed significantly.

Over the past two weeks, the number of confirmed cases has fallen by nearly 50% and deaths have decreased by 35%.

Dr. Pouch, an expert on infectious diseases in the United States, clarified that by the end of this year, it is likely that we will be able to return to our pre-Corona routine to a large extent, but we are not yet comfortable.

[Anthony Pouch/Director of the National Medical Center Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research Institute: (Shall Americans still wear masks in 2022?) Yes, probably.

The degree to which the mutant virus spreads in the community will be key.]

Since the inauguration of President Biden, the coronavirus situation in the United States has improved a lot as vaccination and quarantine have been spurred. I'm doing it.