President Extends Social Distancing Guidelines Through April 30

At a press conference on Sunday, President Trump said that the federal government’s guidelines for social distancing would last until April 30. The guidelines urge people to stay at home and not to gather in groups of more than 10. The president had recently suggested that these guidelines might be relaxed by April 12, so people could go to church on Easter Sunday.

According to Fox News, the President believes that "the peak in death rate" in the coronavirus pandemic "is likely to hit in two weeks," hence the extension in the social distancing guidelines.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said during the conference that the decision to extend the social-distancing guidelines was "a wise and prudent decision." He said that he, Dr. Deborah Birx and other members of the task force had made the recommendation.

Over 2,300 people with the virus already have died in the U.S.so far, according to Fox News.

The president said, "The modeling estimates that the peak in death rate is likely to hit in two weeks. I will say it again. The peak, the highest point of death rates, remember this, is likely to hit in two weeks... Therefore, we will be extending our guidelines to April 30, to slow the spread."

He discussed his earlier hope that the country could reopen by Easter saying that it was "just an aspiration," adding, "We can expect that by June 1, we will be well on our way to recovery."

"A lot of great things will be happening," he said.

He was asked about "worst-case scenarios" and said, "You're gonna have large numbers of suicides -- tremendous suicides... drug addiction... you're gonna see drugs being used like no one's ever used them before."