US President Donald Trump has announced that he is extending the nationwide social distancing guidelines by another 30 days to April 30.
President Trump announced the extension of the social distancing guidelines several days after expressing plans to reopen the country amidst the coronavirus pandemic. The 15-day guidelines were set to expire today.
Trump previously suggested to relax the guidelines at least in some parts of the US and looked at Easter, April 12, as a potential date by which the country could return to normal.
However, he said on Sunday that he has decided to extend the guidelines to April 30. In a White House news conference, the president said: "The better you do, the faster this whole nightmare will end."
The announcement was an abrupt back-down from his stand in previous weeks that the distancing restrictions were causing irreparable damage to the economy. Trump looked decided to allow the return to normal activity.
But on Sunday's news conference, he appeared to acknowledge that the spread of the virus had not slowed down and even pointed out that modeling shows that the peak of the death rate will likely hit in two weeks.
Trump said: "We can expect that by June 1st, we will be well on our way to recovery, we think by June 1st. A lot of great things will be happening. I want our life back again."
Under the social distancing guidelines, all Americans are advised to avoid groups of more than 10 and older people are urged to stay at home.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top infectious disease specialist who predicts that more than 100,000 Americans could eventually die from coronavirus with millions more infected, is among the president's health advisers encouraging a continuation of the current guidelines.
When asked about the Easter date he mentioned earlier in the week, Trump said it was merely "aspirational."
