"We will be extending our guidelines to April 30, to slow the spread," Trump said at a White House Coronavirus Task Force news briefing held at the White House Rose Garden. "On Tuesday, we will be finalizing these plans and providing a summary of our findings, supporting data and strategy to the American people."
The president said "modeling suggests" that the peak of the COVID-19 death rate in the United States "is likely to hit in two weeks," adding that he hopes the country will be on its way to recovery by June 1.
"We can expect that by June 1st, we will be well on our way to recovery, we think by June 1st," said the president.
Anthony Fauci, one of the leading health experts on the task force team, warned earlier in the day that the country could see 100,000 to 200,000 deaths due to the contagious disease.
Fauci, also director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said at the briefing that it is "entirely conceivable" that more than 1 million people in the country could be infected with the coronavirus, reiterating that 100,000 deaths are possible.
"The number I gave out is, you know, based on modeling," he told reporters. "What we're trying to do is not to let that happen."
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