According to the same estimates, 2,852,590 people died in 2019, meaning at least 73,000 more people have died so far in 2020 than 2019, despite missing or incomplete data for October through December. If deaths continue at the weekly average of approximately 60,000 per week, at least 240,000 more people would die in 2020, resulting in more than 3.1 million deaths. If the population grew at the same rate in 2020 as in 2019 (0.5%), this would result in a death rate of 9.4 deaths per 1,000, making it the highest death rate in decades.
For context, the most recent estimates from the Census Bureau, which are from 2017, projected that there would be 2.75 million deaths in 2020, accounting for an aging population. The Census Bureau did not expect the nation to reach 3.1 million deaths until 2029 or 2030.