The two top infectious disease experts on the White House coronavirus task force think social distancing measures appear to be helping but reminded Americans they are going to have a significant effect on how many people in the Unites States die.
“It’s communities that will do this. There’s no magic bullet (for Covid-19), there’s no magic vaccine or therapy, it’s just behaviors,” said Dr. Deborah Birx, coordinator of the task force. “Each of our behaviors translating into something that changes the course of this viral pandemic over the next 30 days.”
Cases and deaths are soaring: There have been at least 3,800 reported deaths in the United States – more than 800 of which were reported Tuesday alone. More than 185,000 coronavirus cases have been reported in the country.
Hawaii became the 49th state to report a death. Only Wyoming, which has had 109 reported cases, has not announced a fatality.
Models used by the White House predict that even with perfect adherence to social distancing guidelines, at least 100,000 Americans might die.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told reporters that Americans should be ready for such a death toll, but the task force is working to keep the number down.
“We should be prepared for it. Is it going to be that much? I hope not, and I think the more we push on the mitigation the less the likelihood it would be that number,” he said.
President Donald Trump announced the White House’s coronavirus guidelines would be extended for another 30 days and that Americans should be ready for a “very tough two weeks ahead.”
Fauci also told Americans not to get discouraged when the number of deaths keeps increasing because other data will show mitigation is working.
Early clues – in places like New York, California and Seattle – indicate social distancing may be slowing the rate at which Covid-19 cases otherwise would have increased in the United States.
But health officials warn it’s too early to know how well it’s working – and even if mitigation measures continue, the number of US deaths still could be hard to take.
