Dr. Anthony Fauci, a member of the White House coronavirus task force, on Monday said President Trump made a “pretty clear decision” to extend guidance on public gatherings and other measures until the end of April to try to mitigate the spread of the virus.
“His first goal is to prevent suffering and death, and we made it very clear to him that if we pulled back on what we were doing and didn’t extend them, there would be more avoidable suffering and avoidable death,” Dr. Fauci said on CNN’s “New Day.” “So it was a pretty clear decision on his part.”
Despite expressing hope that parts of the country could start opening up around Easter, or April 12, Mr. Trump on Sunday extended federal guidance until April 30 that says people should stay home when possible, avoid crowds of more than 10 people and avoid nonessential travel.
On March 16, Mr. Trump had announced a 15-day period for the social distancing recommendations.
Dr. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said that he and Dr. Deborah Birx, the U.S. coronavirus response coordinator, presented data to Mr. Trump in the Oval Office.
“We showed him the data, he looked at the data, and he got it right away. It was a pretty clear picture,” Dr. Fauci said. “He looked at them, he understood them, and he just shook his head and said, ’I guess we got to do it.’ “
SEE ALSO: Anthony Fauci predicts ‘millions’ of U.S. coronavirus cases, more than 100,000 deaths
Dr. Fauci on Sunday had said that 100,000 to 200,000 people in the U.S. could die from the virus and that there could be millions of cases.
Mr. Trump had said Sunday there was the potential for 2.2 million deaths and that holding the number down to about 100,000, while still horrible, would be a pretty good job.
There are now more than 143,000 positive cases and more than 2,500 deaths from the coronavirus in the U.S., according to a tracker from Johns Hopkins University.
Beyond the hardest-hit areas like New York, Dr. Fauci said potential trouble spots include New Jersey cities like Newark, as well as Greenwich, Los Angeles, and larger cities in the Midwest.
“Those are the things we get concerned about,” he said. “Thus far, they seem to be doing well, but they have the potential to get into trouble.”
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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