President Donald Trump Sunday forwarded the countrywide social distancing guidelines to April 30 as coronavirus cases spread across the United States to number over 140,000.
Trump, who had earlier expressed the hope to loosen restrictions by Easter, April 12, said the extension through the end of April would ensure that the loss of American lives is kept at the lowest possible level in the face of the massive outbreak.
“Nothing would be worse than declaring victory before the victory has been won,” the president said.
Health experts have resisted putting any timeline on when the pandemic might abate or disappear completely but Trump hoped the country would “be well on our way to recovery” by June 1.
“So if we can hold that down, as we’re saying, to 100,000, it’s a horrible number, maybe even less, but to 100,000, so we have between 100 and 200,000, we all together have done a very good job,” Trump said, referring to a worst-case scenario picture that fears the death toll to be around two million.
The United States has lost 24,00 people to the COVID-19 pandemic, with New York being the most affected state.
