U.S. death toll from COVID-19 is expected to climb to 230,822 by November, said the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) of the University of Washington.

On July 22, the institute forecasted a total of 219,864 deaths from COVID-19 by November in the United States, reported CNN on Thursday.

The updated projection is based on the current scenario in the United States where infection cases rise and some people refuse to wear masks and practice social distancing, or other measures, said the IHME in its projection model.

If the country universally adopts wearing masks, the number of deaths by November would drop to nearly 198,831, it said.

U.S. COVID-19 deaths passed the 150,000 mark to reach 150,034 as of 3:35 p.m. local time on Wednesday (1935 GMT), according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.