White House projects grim death toll from coronavirus
By Morgan Chalfant and Jessie Hellmann - 03/31/20 06:14 PM EDT
White House projects grim death toll from coronavirus
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President Trump's top health advisers said Tuesday that models show between 100,000 and 240,000 Americans could die from the novel coronavirus even if the country keeps stringent social distancing guidelines in place.
Without any measures to mitigate the disease's spread, those projections jump to between 1.5 and 2.2 million deaths from COVID-19.
The models, which were displayed at a White House press briefing Tuesday, underpinned Trump's decision to extend social distancing guidelines to the end of April.
Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus task force coordinator, explained the data, urging the public to steel for difficult weeks ahead while expressing hope that the efforts would reduce the spread of the coronavirus.
“There’s no magic bullet, there’s no magic vaccine or therapy. It’s just behaviors,†Birx said, adding that it would be those behaviors that could change “the course of the viral pandemic.â€
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https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/490490-white-house-models-show-100000-240000-deaths-due-to-coronavirus-even
