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Coronavirus Watch: As many as 200,000 could die, Fauci says

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The U.S. death toll from coronavirus saw a steep jump over the weekend, and federal infectious disease official Dr. Anthony Fauci on Sunday said as many as 200,000 Americans could die from the virus before the crisis is over. 

This is the Sunday edition of Coronavirus Watch, from the Paste BN Network. 

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  • Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said Sunday between 100,000 and 200,000 could die from coronavirus before the crisis is done. 
  • Fauci, speaking on CNN's State of the Union, noted that computer models generally overestimate final numbers, but said the U.S. is "going to have millions of cases."
  • Two weeks ago, President Trump issued 15-day guidelines on social distancing and other preventative measures. Fauci said he expects those guidelines to be extended for weeks to come.
  • The U.S. death toll doubled in two days and now sits at nearly 2,200, according to the Johns Hopkins coronavirus database. The total number of confirmed cases eclipsed 125,000 on Sunday.
  • Worldwide, there are more than 700,000 confirmed cases and 32,000 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins dashboard. Italy's death toll, the highest in the world, eclipsed 10,000 over the weekend. 
  • New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo ripped President Donald Trump for suggesting a potential ban on people traveling from New York to other states, calling the measure "a federal declaration of war on states." Late Saturday, Trump backed off on the idea, tweeting that "a quarantine will not be necessary."
  • The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, however, issued a request Saturday asking residents of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut to avoid non-essential travel for 14 days.
  • The U.S. began airlifting medical supplies from Asia and other nations to areas hit hard by the virus. More than 10 million surgical gloves, 130,000 N-95 masks were received Sunday at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.
  • Cities across the nation should brace for a New York City-like situation, White House coronavirus response coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx said. The most populous city in the U.S. has become the epicenter for the virus. 
  • Fifty TSA screening officers from across the nation tested positive for coronavirus in the last two weeks, the agency announced. The Department of Homeland Security website provides a map showing the airports where TSA officers have tested positive.

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– Jay Cannon, Paste BN Network and Wires Editor, @JayTCannon on Twitter

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