US president Donald Trump has said that the country's social distancing measures intended to curb the spread of coronavirus will continue until April 30 at the earliest.
The announcement put paid to the president's previous ambition of loosening the measures prior to Easter, but Trump is quoted by the Telegraph as saying that the US would hopefully "reach the bottom of the hill" by the start of June, adding that social distancing measures are "the way you win".
The president said: "It should start coming down and hopefully very substantially from that point [Easter]".
Trump added that it was integral not to "declare victory before victory is won".
"That would be the greatest loss of all", Trump continued.
Trump's announcement came after Dr Anthony Fauci, the US government's medical adviser, warned that up to 200,000 US citizens could die as a result of the outbreak, and the prospect of millions becoming infected is "entirely conceivable".
Fauci's words come as the number of confirmed cases stateside goes beyond 140,000, making it the epicentre of the outbreak ahead of both China and Italy, according to data provided by John Hopkins University. The data also shows 2,493 coronavirus-related deaths recorded in the US as of Sunday evening.
Trump said on Sunday that if the death toll in the US could be kept under 100,000, then "we all together have done a very good job".
According to Trump, "rapid testing" for coronavirus in the US has also been given approval, capable of returning a diagnosis within five minutes.
The president confirmed that doctors, nurses and other front-line healthcare workers will be tested.
He said: "I wish we could have our old life back... but we're working very hard, that's all I know. I see things, I see numbers, they don't matter to me. What matters to me is that we have a victory over this thing as soon as possible."
