Trump defends extending virus guidelines as spread continues
By ZEKE MILLER and JILL COLVIN Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has told the nation’s governors that modeling on the coronavirus projected substantially more deaths if the nation did not incorporate social distancing. Dr. Deborah Birx, the coronavirus task force coordinator, was also on the call Monday. She told governors it’s “several weeks away from the peak of the curve for the United States.” Earlier Monday, Trump defended his decision to reverse course and extend restrictive social distancing guidelines through the end of April. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the government’s top infectious disease expert, says the U.S. could see between 100,000 to 200,000 deaths from the pandemic.