Donald Trump on Tuesday said the US coronavirus death toll could quickly reach almost a quarter of a million people as the president warned Americans to prepare for a “very, very painful two weeks”.
In a dramatic change of tone from his comments on the crisis only days ago, Mr Trump and his top health scientists said there could be between 100,000 and 240,000 deaths even if Americans follow the social distancing guidelines the president had recommended until the end of April.
“We’re going to go through a very tough two weeks and then hopefully as the experts are predicting . . . we’re going to see some real light at the end of the tunnel. But this is going to be a very, very painful two weeks,” he said.