The coronavirus pandemic isn't expected to ease throughout the summer and an updated model shows the importance of being cautious and wearing masks.

"Not wearing a mask in public is like driving drunk," says Dr. Jonathan Reiner, Cardiologist and Professor at George Washington University.

The latest coronavirus projection from the University of Washington says more than 179,000 Americans will die by October 1 – that’s an improvement from their last forecast.

As models show, if masks are worn universally, researchers say the death toll could drop by 33,000 more.

"For pretty much every state that we've looked at, if we can get people to wear masks, we can not only saves lives, but I sort of think of it as we can also save the economy because we can keep business going,” says Dr. Chris Murray, University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation.

The news comes as more than half of the United States is seeing an increase in week-to-week cases – with records being set in California, Florida, and Texas for single day coronavirus case reports.

"You need to understand Covid-19 is still here, it's spreading faster than ever before," says Gov. Greg Abbott -R-Texas.

Meanwhile, White House says progress is being made on vaccines.

"I think you're going to have a big surprise, a beautiful surprise sooner than anybody would think," says President Donald Trump.

However, health experts stress erring on the side of caution could be the difference between life and death.

"We have evidence, early evidence, that masks can reduce transmission even up to six-fold, I think it's clear that they can save lives," says Dr. Sanjay Gupta - CNN Chief Medical Correspondent.

The European Union is considering closing its borders to travelers from some countries with large infection rates including the United States.