indiana wrote:
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C: reported deaths on Thu 09/04 to Sat 18/04
D: reported deaths on Sun 19/04 to Tue 28/04

[...]

USA :
C: 2111, 2236, 2024, 1727, 1726, 2566, 2631, 2193, 2543, 1883 - 10 day total 21640
D : 1570, 1952, 2683, 2358, 2340, 1957, 2065, 1156, 1384, 2470 - 10 day total 19935

[...]

In the USA with the apparent plateauing and then slight general drop in the last two 10 day periods, experience from the other countries would suggest a distinct downward trend to come. But the USA has such diverse states with different policies, plus a very different president, that making predictions is much more fraught with uncertainty. I see that, as the USA total death total passes 60,000, the University of Washington on Monday predicted reaching 74,073 by the start of August, having upped this estimate from nearly 67,000 a week earlier and 60,000 a week before that. I don't need a university department behind me to suggest that the president's institution of choice for quoting estimates has once again gone seriously too low.

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As a follow-on to my post of last week on the other coronavirus thread ( editing above to concentrate on the US parts ) I see that the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington has managed to move this week beyond total fantasy, and its latest update for estimated US deaths by the start of August is 134,000 ( from that 74,073 figure just a week ago ). Possibly still too low the way things are going but much more in the real world.

Evidently various other organisations have been hugely upping various daily and long term estimates too in the face of various states apparently truly intending to markedly relax restrictions plus seeing Democrat Michigan ( with some of the highest figures ) having to deal with gun-toting insurgents ( or good people as Trump would say ) looking for relaxations there.

It's madness 

With 683 deaths added to the total today, the UK has overtaken Italy in overall number of dearlths recorded, to lie 2nd in pure numbers to the USA ( though still less than Belgium, Spain and Italy per capita ). 

Every death is a tragedy. Italy was hugely hit early on and initially mostly in one region, largely unexpectedly. We had much more warning and these figures ( even if not collected on precisely the same basis ) are further condemnation of relative inaction in some aspects.

I recall news pictures of major steps being taken in Italy, when instead of just reporting we should have already been following such steps and getting ahead of their trajectory. Rather than just wash your hands and we would supposedly take the right steps at the right time.

We have got away with the initial peak not overwhelming the NHS, and some very good steps were taken such as the Nightingale Hospitals, but perhaps still an element of luck, and still too many lives lost directly and probably indirectly.

indiana wrote:

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Nicola Sturgeon has had a few things ro say. She seems on a rather different page to Boris. While her preference is to move together, she indicates that Scotland could certainly go down a more cautious route.

Partly she thinks the infection rate is currently higher in Scotland but she also looks to have some fundamental concerns about some of the messages that appear to be emanating from down south. 

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-52574427

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I tweeted something similar a short while ago.  What she was saying is that "she won't be pressured into easing lock down ..." which suggests to me there may be some tension between the Scottish Parliament and Nº 10 Downing Street as to what the policy will be going forwards.