Trump, Fauci brace US for large virus death toll

President Donald Trump's impulse to restore rmalcy met a sober reality check Sunday from Dr. Anthony Fauci, government's top infectious disease expert, who said U.S. could experience more than 100,000 deaths and millions of infections from pandemic.

Trump's decision to extend guidelines of voluntary national shutdown reflected a recognition that struggle will take place over long haul and risk of deaths spiralling into hundreds of thousands is real. It was a stark shift in tone by president, who only days ago mused about country reopening in a few weeks. From Rose Garden, he said his Easter revival hopes h only been "aspirational."

"We h an aspiration of Easter but when you hear se kinds of numbers and you hear potential travesty, we don't want to have a spike up," president told reporters in Rose Garden.

Trump, who has largely avoided talk of potential death and infection rates, cited projection models that said potentially 2.2 million people or more could have died h country t put social distancing measures in place.

Trump minimized gravity of pandemic for weeks. For most people, new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older ults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death.