During the past weeks, as coronavirus cases spiked across the United States, deaths rose far more slowly, staying significantly lower than in the early, deadliest weeks pf the nation's outbreak this spring. New treatments, many hoped, might slow a new wave of funerals.

Now, signs are shifting: More than 1,000 Americans are dying of the coronavirus every day on average, a 50 percent increase in the last month. Twice this past week, there have been more than 1,400 deaths reported in a single day.

According to Jennifer Nuzzo, a senior scholar at John Hopkins Center for Health Security, "The m...