US authorities could have prevented 54 thousand COVID-19 deaths, said The New York Times reported.

Scientists from Columbia University have developed a computer model that allows to evaluate the effect of measures introduced in the US in mid-March to prevent the spread of the virus. 

Researchers say that by May 3, 65,307 people died from coronavirus in the US. Scientists believe if COVID-19 restrictions were introduced a week earlier, then 36 thousand fewer people would have died in the country. If these measures were taken two weeks earlier, 54 thousand people would have escaped death, the researchers note.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, over 4.9 million people have become infected with the COVID-19 and over 328 thousand have died. According to Johns Hopkins University, over 1.55 million cases have been confirmed by the US. The death toll has reached 93.4 thousand people.